


Childcare and Mechanics for Dummies

by charlottefrey



Series: The Nanny AU [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: And so is Rose, Ben is too done for this shit, Ben just wants to have a cute hubby, Ben will cry at some point out of frustration, F/M, Finn and Poe are married, Finn is Niles, Hux is gay for Ben's driving, Hux is loaded, M/M, Paige does kickboxing, Paige is super adorable, Rose & Paige & Doph are Hux' kids, Skiing, Thanisson is CC, The Nanny AU, There are so many cars in here, Y'know that old TV series from the 90s?, assholes are dated, change of POV, everyone ships it, lots of cars, watch out how many are stolen from Top Gear or Grand Tour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-04-16 07:31:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14159832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlottefrey/pseuds/charlottefrey
Summary: Ben has recently returned from America, where he has worked as a kindergarten teacher for three years. Desperately looking for a job, he helps out in his father's mechanic shop.Armitage is looking for a new nanny after his last one moved away. None of the applicants really suit him and he slowly gets more and more impatient. And the fact that his cars are constantly breaking down is not helping his frustration either.





	1. The Red Maserati

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> I'm back at it again with my weird AUs! I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the last one!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working as a mechanic is fun on most days. Just not when you have to deal with shoddy Italian workmanship.

The house Ben approached in the ratty old van was pompous and large. The garden around the old stone building was well kept and presumably cost more to keep in shape than his parent’s whole house. He sighed, glancing down on the time. He definitely had better things to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Ben sighed again and stopped the car on the gravel road. A young man stepped out of a small door to the side of the building. He was tall, well built and wore a fetching uniform. Sure, they have a butler. Why not. Ben got out and slammed the door shut harder than necessary.

  “I’m Ben Organa-Solo,” Ben said, nodding at the man.

  “Finn Dameron, the butler.” The two shake hands.

  “You called my father about the broken down Maserati?”

  “Yes,” Finn said enthusiastically. “Mr Hux wishes to take the car to Brighton on Monday morning, but it wouldn’t start this morning. Your father assured us that the car should be fixed by Monday morning.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Ben said, feeling a little less enthusiastic about his abilities. “If it’s something more serious, it might take longer. Maserati’s tend to be a little... _complicated_.”

  “I’m aware,” Finn replied with a professional smile. “We will pay for all expenses to assure that the car will work on Monday.”

  “What you’re trying to tell me with that is that your boss won’t be pleased with either of us if the car isn’t working,” Ben said bluntly.

He didn’t miss the slight grin on Finn’s face that vanished as quickly as it had come. And he didn’t miss the amused twinkle in the other’s eyes either.

  “It’s not Mr Hux I am worried about. It’s Mr Thanisson, Mr Hux’ business partner. He is a bit, well…” Finn trailed off with a strained smile.

  “Say no more,” Ben said and grinned. “I will try my best, I promise.”

When Finn opened the garage door to the Maserati’s home, Ben wasn’t sure whether he should groan in frustration or whistle. It was an old Biturbo convertible in flashing red. Nice to look at and terrible to fix.

  “Finn…” Ben sighed.

  “Yes?”

They shared a look and Finn’s smile turned apologetic. Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

  “Can I bring the van into the courtyard?” He asked instead of freaking out.

  “If you give me the key, I will bring it to you,” Finn offered.

  “It’s not exactly the place where white shirts stay white,” Ben said and licked his lips nervously.

  “There’s bleach,” Finn replied with a shrug. “Also Mr Hux told me to help you as much as I can. And I intend on helping you as much as I can.”

  “You just don’t want me to drive the van through your precious roses because I get lost in that maze of a garden…” Ben said.

  “Yeah, that too,” Finn laughed.

  “Have fun,” Ben exchanged keys with the butler and went to look at the Bitrubo.

The fine leather seats were well-worn and smelled a little of dog. Ben tried to start the engine first, but virtually nothing happened. Not even the starter was audible. He groaned and leaned back into the seat.

While he was trained as a mechanic, he hadn’t worked as one for three years and had noticed that he was a bit rusty when it came to a few things. Ben really wished for Rey to look over his shoulder and help him with the difficult bits.

  “Please let it be the battery…” He begged and leaned down to pop the bonnet.

When he looked under the bonnet, he groaned again. It was a mess, reminding him of Rey’s Moto Guzzi V7. Everything was stuffed somewhere, without logic and reason. He rubbed his hand over his face and inhaled deeply.

The tell-tale rattling of his dad’s old van stirred him from his dark thoughts. It was the battery he told himself firmly. If not, he would probably start crying.

He would definitely cry he thought, looking back at the exposed engine.

  “And?” Finn asked after he hopped out of the van.

  “Let it be the battery,” Ben straightened and looked at the butler.

  “And if it isn’t?” Finn lifted one eyebrow.

  “How good are you at consoling crying mechanics?” Ben asked and opened the back doors of the van.

  “Oh,” Finn said and swallowed. “I can see what I can do if that happens.”

  “Finn?” A voice called. “Father wants to see you!”

Ben looked over to the house. The back door was opened and a young girl stoop on the gravel. She was maybe fourteen or fifteen, tall and wearing a black knee length dress. Her dark hair was braided around her head in a crown.

  “He’s in his office?” Finn asked, already halfway across the courtyard.

  “Yes,” the girl nodded.

  “Thank you Paige,” Finn said. “I’ll be back in no time Ben!” He called over his shoulder.

  “Don’t worry about me!” Ben replied.

He expected the girl to vanish into the house again, but instead she walked over to him.

  “I’m Paige Hux,” she said. “You’re the mechanic?” She leaned against the Maserati, one hand resting on the engine block.

  “Ben Organa-Solo,” he replied and pulled out his tools. “Aren’t you worried that your dress will get dirty?” Ben pointed at her hand.

  “Fuck my dress,” Paige said with a shrug and took her hand off the engine.

Ben arched one eyebrow. Paige smirked at him as she rubbed the grease into her skirt.

  “I’m interested in cars. My father approves, but only begrudgingly,” Paige shrugged as she watched Ben hook up the Maserati’s battery.

Ben felt reminded of Rey and nodded slowly. Paige had the same glint in her eyes like Rey when she really wanted to prove herself.

  “Do you know how to start a car?”

  “Sure,” Paige shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it.

  “Then get behind the wheel and we’ll see if we can revive this thing,” Ben grinned at her.

Paige laughed and almost tripped over herself to get into the driver’s seat. Ben shook his head at her and flicked the switch before he gave her the command to start the car.

 

Armitage looked out of his office window. He had a perfect view of the gardens and the garage house from the first floor. Thanisson had left only a few minutes prior and he was glad to have the man out of the house. While Thanisson was a capable partner and very reliable, Armitage couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something fishy about him.

Two figures appeared on the right side and Armitage recognized Finn with a stranger. Finn spoke to the man, who wore a stained green overall. Armitage assumed that it must be the mechanic, though he had never seen him at Solo’s garage. Hopefully he wouldn’t mess up his beloved Maserati.

Armitage continued to watch the two men. He winched when the mechanic sat down on the Maserati’s leather seats with his dirty overall, but Armitage scolded himself immediately. It was the man’s job after all.

A quiet knock rang out in the silent room.

  “Dad?” Paige asked.

  “Yes darling?” Armitage turned around to his eldest daughter. “Is something the matter?”

  “I was just wondering… Have you looked for a new nanny? I know you’re busy and all, but…” Paige looked at her feet and swallowed.

  “I have a few applications for the position. I wanted to speak to Finn about them,” Armitage said gently and crossed the office with quick strides. “I know you can’t look after your siblings forever.”

  “I can manage,” Paige said as Armitage pulled her into an embrace.

  “You’re a child yourself, I won’t ask that of you,” Armitage kissed her temple softly. “Could you get Finn for me? So we can talk about the applications.”

  “Sure,” Paige stepped and and inhaled. “Do you know where he is?”

  “He just showed the mechanic the garages, I assume he’s still there,” Armitage said. “And Paige?” She stopped in the doorway and turned around to him. “You’re doing an amazing job, I’m proud of you.”

Her smile lifted the dark thoughts from Armitage’s mind and made him smile as well.

  “Thanks dad!”

She ran off and Armitage heard her giggle as she went.

He nodded to himself and sighed. Just because things didn’t work out as he had planned them, there was no reason to be bitter about anything. He returned to the window.

An ugly white van was now parked beside the opened garage door and Armitage watched Finn get out of the driver’s seat. The two men spoke and then Paige appeared through the back door. Instead of going back inside with Finn, she walked over to the opened garage door. The mechanic spoke to her and Armitage watched with slight horror that Paige wiped grease on her new dress.

He groaned quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Mr Hux?” Finn said, knocking at the door frame.

  “Ah, yes,” Armitage turned. “Please close the door Finn.”

Finn followed suit and took a seat on the dark green couch across from Armitage’s desk.

  “I wanted to speak to you about the new applicants for the nanny position,” Armitage picked up the small pile of paper from his desk and handed it over to Finn. “You’ve been a good friend throughout all those years and I wanted your input. Ann and you got along remarkably well and it would be a shame if you didn’t approve of the new nanny.”

  “Thank you sir for your confidence in me,” Finn looked at him with wide eyes. “Uhm, do you want me to go through them right now?”

  “No, but I would like to finalize my decision on Wednesday evening. Then we can invite two or three for an interview,” Armitage took a seat and sighed. “You can speak to Poe about it as well.”

Finn gave a nervous laugh and flushed. Armitage smiled and leaned back in his seat.

  “Tell me about the mechanic.”  

  “His name is Ben Organa-Solo and he seems like a decent guy,” Finn shrugged. “Wasn’t too happy about the Maserati though.”

  “No mechanic is happy about a Maserati,” Armitage laughed and Finn grinned.

  “Is Paige still with Ben?” Finn asked.

  “I think so,” Armitage got up and walked to the window.

Ben was now leaning over the engine, his overall stretching over his thighs and butt. Armitage swallowed and cleared his throat. Finn, who had gotten up as well, shot him a slightly bemused smile.

  “Ben sure has some good qualities…”

  “Finn…” Armitage warned.

Finn chuckled and smirked. Armitage rolled his eyes at him and glanced out the window again. Paige had appeared by Ben’s side and he was showing her something, pointing to various parts of the engine.

  “She looks a lot like Suzie,” Armitage said quietly.

  “Yes,” Finn agreed. “Paige will look just like her when she’s older.”

Armitage sighed and touched his wedding band. A hand brushed over his back and Armitage turned to Finn, who looked at him with slightly wet eyes. With a sigh, Armitage leaned against Finn.

  “I miss her.”

  “We all miss her, the kids, Poe and me. We’re here for you Armitage,” Finn whispered softly.

  “And I’m glad for that. I don’t tell you that often enough,” Armitage looked at Finn. “You’re a good friend Finn.”

  “I wouldn’t leave you for the world, trust me.”

Armitage smiled and sniffed. The two men remained in their half-embrace for a few more minutes until Armitage stepped back. He inhaled deeply.

  “Thank you, Finn.”

  “No problem.”

 

Ben wanted to swear and kick the shit out of the stupid Maserati, but held his tongue and temper. He certainly didn’t want to make a scene.

  “You look like dad when he’s about to lose his shit,” Paige suddenly said.

Ben turned to look at the teen and saw her smug grin. He laughed and snorted.

  “Because I am about to rip this whole car apart.”

  “I hope not, I do like it,” a voice said behind him and Ben shot around.

A tall, red haired man stood there, a sarcastic smile on his lips. He looked gorgeous in his white shirt, a tight sky blue waistcoat and pants. Ben swallowed and inhaled.

  “You must be Mr Hux,” he said with a rough voice. “Sorry for letting my temper get the better of me.”

  “Ach,” Mr Hux waved him off. “Don’t worry about it Mr Organa-Solo. I’ve seen many mechanics lose their minds and temper over this car.”

  “Please, call me Ben,” Ben rubbed the back of his neck.

  “What’s wrong with my car?”

  “I think that the alternator is broken and took out the battery on the way. How old is it?” Ben asked and fiddled with his overall.

  “It was built 1987 and the battery was changed three years ago,” Mr Hux said and circled the car. Paige put an arm around her father's waist and leaned against him.

  “That’s not that long ago,” Ben murmured.

  “Can you fix it by Monday?” Mr Hux asked.  

  “Well…” Ben glanced down on his watch. “It’s already late… I could come tomorrow, but that would mean charging you extra.”

He looked up from his arm and into Mr Hux’ pale green eyes. Ben was suddenly aware that he wore only a ratty tank top and a dirty overall knotted around his hips. Compared to the prim man next to the car, he felt almost naked. Especially as those beautiful eyes roamed his body.

 “Money is not the issue,” Mr Hux said calmly. “If it’s not a problem for you to come here on a Sunday of course.”

  “It’s fine,” Ben replied. “I just hope we have the materials to fix the alternator.”

  “I’m sure your father has something in his shop. So far he’s been able to fix every car of mine in record time.”

Ben laughed.

  “You mean that my dad never throws out anything because one day it might come in handy to have it?” He shook his head and sighed. “I will call you once I’ve gone through our storage. If I can’t fix it the earlier you know the better.”

  “Could you show me what exactly seems to be the problem?” Mr Hux asked.

  “Do you see that?” Ben leaned over the car and pointed to a part obscured by the battery and some electrical cords. “That’s the alternator. The belt seems to be fine, but the car isn’t starting, like at all. No matter what I tried, nothing. I will try to see if a new battery and a little trickery tickles it into working. If not, I would have to tow it to the shop and take it apart.”

Mr Hux was right beside Ben, looking very unhappy with what Ben had said.

  “Oh. The alternator was the only thing that hasn’t broken yet,” Mr Hux said with a frown.

  “Maybe it’s time has come now. Watch out,” Ben took a step back and slammed the hood down.

  “Thank you for your work,” Mr Hux offered with a smile.

  “I have yet to do any proper work,” Ben laughed. “You will hear from me, okay?”

  “Very well,” Mr Hux nodded.

  “Bye Paige,” Ben waved at the girl. “Good evening Mr Hux.”

Ben climbed into the seat of his van and drove off.

 

  “Daddy!” Paige smirked at him. “You know enough about cars that you don’t need a mechanic to show you what’s what.”

  “I simply wanted to see if he was any good,” Armitage replied with a grin. “What do you think of him?”

  “He’s very nice and patient. Showed me a lot of things,” Paige closed the garage door.

  “Oh really?” Armitage asked with an arched eyebrow. “You sure it was just because he is friendly?”

  “Dad!” Paige rolled her eyes. “You’re acting as if he’s asked me out. Ben is definitely gay!”

Armitage arched his eyebrows at his daughter, but let the issue go.

* * *

[Moodboard](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	2. The Springfield Dark Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben usually likes Sundays. Not this one though. But maybe he changes his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the positive responses! I'm so pumped for this!!

Ben rolled out of bed the next morning and almost stepped on Chewie. Rey’s short, fat corgi loved sleeping Ben’s room for some reason. Instead of using one of his three luxurious dog beds, he opted for the smelly overall on the floor of Ben’s room.

  “Chewie, I swear to god that was an accident!” Ben told the dog, who looked at him with teary, sad eyes.

Chewie said nothing and started to lick his ankle instead. Ben shivered and took a quick step away from the dog. He rubbed the dog spit off with an old sock and begun to put on his clothes for the day. Sighing as he slipped into his jeans, he thought of ten different things he would rather do today. After brushing his teeth and fixing his hair, he walked downstairs.

He heard voices from the kitchen and headed into that direction once he had reached the bottom of the stairs. Chewie followed him, panting as if he had just run a marathon.

  “Ben, good morning!” Rey said cheerily and looked up from where she made pancakes.

  “Morning Rey, morning mum,” Ben kissed Leia’s temple.

  “Slept well my dear?” Leia asked and handed him an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter.

  “It was fine,” Ben replied with a shrug as he washed the fruit. “It’s a lot more comfortable than the mattress I had in Orlando.”

  “Are you working today?” Rey asked and flipped the pancake skillfully.

  “Yes. The guy needs his car by Monday morning,” Ben said and shrugged.

  “Mr Hux is a bit special, but very nice once you get to know him,” Rey ripped a piece off one of the pancakes and slipped it to Chewie.

  “Rey, he’s already too fat!” Leia said and slapped her niece’s hand.

  “Sorry,” Rey said and grinned at her.

  “He slept in my room again. He loves my smelly overall for some reason,” Ben said as he ate the apple.

  “He missed you when you were in America. Chewie is merely making up for lost time, just like all of us,” Rey looked at Ben.

  “You missed me?” Ben asked her with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes,” Rey said seriously. “Very much.”

  “We all did,” Leia interrupted.

She looked at her son and sighed. Ben pulled her into a hug and Leia leaned against him.

  “I missed you all too,” Ben admitted. “I’m glad to be back home.”

  “Now you only have to find a proper job and all is well!” Rey said with a smile.

  “That’s harder than it seems,” Ben released Leia and leaned against the counter again. “Who wants to hire a kindergarten teacher that looks like me?”

  “Someone will,” Leis said firmly. “Now go! The earlier you leave, the earlier you’re back.”

  “Yes mum,” Ben kissed her cheek. “I’ll call you when I’m on my way home, okay?”

  “Lovely,” Leia replied and slapped his ass. “Move!” She shooed him out.

Ben left, Rey’s laughter still ringing in his ears.

  


He was pulling his flip-up helmet off his head when Finn looked out of the backdoor of the Hux’ mansion.

  “I didn’t know you biked,” Finn called across the courtyard.

Ben laughed and hung his helmet onto the handlebar and sauntered over to the butler.

  “Are you surprised?” He asked with a grin as he leaned against the door frame.

  “No, but it adds to the bad boy charm you got going on,” Finn said with a smile.

  “Thanks I guess,” Ben laughed.

  “Benny? Are you hitting on my husband?”

  “Holy shit, Poe!” Ben brust out and let himself be dragged into the kitchen.

  “Let me look at you,” Poe held Ben’s head in his hands and grinned broadly. “You’ve let your hair grow!” He said appreciatively. “I can’t see your adorably large ears anymore,” Poe forcefully pulled Ben’s hair up and backwards before letting it slip through his fingers.

  “Yeah and you got married? What the hell?” Ben pulled Poe into a bear hug. “Man, you didn’t even think to tell me that?”

  “I thought my mother told your mother,” Poe explained.

  “As if my mum ever tells me anything! And I’ve been wondering about Finn’s last name,” Ben released Poe and both laughed.

  “We met here, I started working as a chef a few years ago. Fulfilled my abuelitas prophecy!” Poe shrugged. “And I just couldn’t resist Finn.”

  “You two know each other?” Finn asked, still standing in the doorway looking very confused.

  “We dated each other back in school,” Poe said and slapped Ben on the back. “Ouch, what the fuck is that?”

  “My back protector you moron,” Ben shook his head at Poe. “I dated Poe for six months until we had a mutual break up. Over the years we had occasionally contact up until I moved to the US for a job offer.”

  “He’s a goddamn kindergarten teacher!” Poe shook his head. “I still think you should’ve become a stuntman! Or a model!” Ben laughed self-consciously.

  “He’s got the built for it,” Finn said with a laugh.

  “Back in school they called him _bean pole_ because he was so damn tall and skinny,” Poe stage whispered.

  “Shut up,” Ben playfully shoved Poe and shook his head at him. “Actually I’m here on business not pleasure. I gotta fix the Maserati or else your boss will hang my by the toes from the highest tower.” Ben winked at Poe.  

  “Mr Hux ain’t that bad,” Poe said.

  “I hope you can fix it. Thanisson has called earlier,” Finn muttered with an eye roll as Ben moved towards the door.

  “Thanisson? Didn’t you say something about that man yesterday?” Ben asked.

  “He’s Mr Hux personal assistant, but wants to get with him,” Poe said and pulled a face.

  “I’m glad to hear that you’re still the gossip queen,” Ben replied with a grin.

A swing door opened and someone entered the kitchen.

  “Ah, there you are!” Mr Hux suddenly interrupted them.

  “Mr Hux, good morning!” Ben said with a broad smile.

  “Good morning to you too,” Mr Hux said. “How are the preparations for our dinner party coming along?” He looked at Poe.

  “I’m almost done with the prep for the first two courses and desert. Everything is running smoothly,” Poe assured Mr Hux. “Ben and me were merely catching up a little, we know each other from school you know.”

Poe tried to put an arm around Ben’s shoulders, but was too short to properly reach up. He ended up with his arm around Ben’s waist, smiling awkwardly.

  “I’ll just get started on the Maserati then…” Ben said with a strained smile and fled with one last look at Finn, who looked as if he was trying not to cry from sustained laughter.

Once outside, Ben pulled the heavy battery from the saddle bags and carried it over to the garage. He glanced over to the house as he opened the door, hoping that Mr Hux wasn’t too hard on Poe and Finn.

While Ben worked, he was completely focused on his hands. It was almost as if the whole world fell away and left only him and the car he was working on. So it was even more of a shock when suddenly a child started crying only a few feet away from him. Ben jerked up and hit his head on the opened hood, cursing under his breath in yiddish.

A girl of about seven years sat on the rough gravel, clutching her skinned knee and crying as if she had just lost a limb. Ben pulled a greasy rag from his back pocket and rubbed his hands on it before he walked over.

  “Hey,” he said gently and knelt down next to her. “Do you need help?”

The girl looked up at him, eyes red from crying and nodded slowly. Gently Ben picked her up and carried her over to the house. She only sniffled a little and the redness faded from her round cheeks. When he opened the door, Poe looked up from his work.

  “Oh Rose!” He exclaimed. “Sit her down at the table, I will get the first aid kit!”

After Ben had sat her down, he remained on his knees in front of her until Poe came back and put the small red bag down.

  “Are you fine Rose?” He asked her softly and the girl started crying again. “We don’t need to cry over this.”

Rose blinked a few times and looked Poe directly in the eyes before she spoke:

  “This is in no way a _we_ situation!”

Ben snorted and reached for the first aid kit. He pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and took a look at the contents of the kit.

  “You should watch out what you say around kids. They don’t like to be talked over,” he said as he pulled a small bottle of disinfectant from the bag. “And as you can see, they can get pretty sassy,” Ben sprayed some on a gauze pad and reached down for Rose’s leg. “This will sting now.”

The girl nodded and grabbed the side of the chair. Gently, Ben dabbed at the wound, glad that none of the small stones were still inside of the scratch. While Ben cleaned and bandaged Rose’s leg, Poe had returned to his dinner preparations. The door was flung open and Mr Hux strode in.

  “Rose!” He hurried over and picked her up from her chair. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes,” she whispered quietly to her father. “The nice man put a bandage on my knee,” she pointed at it before hiding her face into Mr Hux’ neck.

  “Thank you,” Mr Hux patted Ben on the shoulder.

  “No problem. It’s not the first skinned knee I took care of,” Ben said with a laugh as he packed everything back into the kit.

Mr Hux gave him an honest smile and Ben felt himself blush despite himself. He swallowed and closed the kit before handing it back to Poe. Ben disposed of the gloves, feeling out of place.

  “I’ll get back to the Maserati then,” he said, fleeing the scene.

  


After bringing Rose back to her room, Armitage returned to his office. He felt unsure of Ben. There was something about the mechanic that didn’t quite add up. How patient he was with both Paige and Rose. How he hunched down most of the time, trying to make himself smaller.

Armitage found himself looking out of his window, watching Ben haul the old battery out of the Maserati. Suddenly Armitage felt a little stupid about pressuring the poor man to work on a Sunday. It wasn’t necessary, but Thomas had insisted that the new investor would be delighted to see them arrive in a Maserati, being an avid fan of the brand.

It wasn’t like Armitage didn’t have enough cars to pick for the drive. Even the company car, a sleek black Audi A5 wouldn’t have embarrassed them. Armitage sighed, he couldn’t change what had been done. A frustrated shout drew his attention back outside. Ben struggled to get the new battery into the slot.

The mechanic’s back muscles stood out from his tight blue shirt and Armitage’s lips twitched into a small smile. He played with the idea of going downstairs to help Ben, just for the fun of it.

And despite knowing better, he turned around and walked out of his office.

  


Ben swore in yiddish as he struggled with the stupid battery. He was annoyed, constantly thinking that he could be out with Phasma on a biking trip or simply being lazy at home with his parents.

  “Everything okay?” Mr Hux asked, standing behind Ben.

The mechanic starled, banging his head on the hood of the car. He bit his lip to keep himself from swearing. Swallowing before he spoke, he stood up straight.

  “Not really. I can’t get the battery into the slot. Some stupid cords are in the way, but I don’t have three hands so…” Ben gave him a tight smile.

  “I can help,” Mr Hux offered and begun rolling his sleeves up.

  “No, no,” Ben stammered out. “You’ll get your clothes dirty.”

  “Where do you think Paige got her complete disregard for her clothes?” Mr Hux asked with a smirk. “Tell me where you need me.”

Ben swallowed. Mr Hux looked really good with his blue shirt, adorable sweater vest and tight jeans. He could think of a few place he needed him, but none had anything to do with fixing the car.

  “Uhm, on the other side,” Ben motioned with his hand. “Take this,” he handed Mr Hux a rod. “Try to push the cords to the side.”

Without a word, Mr Hux took the rod and put it in place. Ben grabbed the battery for the hundredth time and tried to squeeze the piece of garbage into the slot. Of course it didn’t work.

  “Du farkirtst mir di yorn!” Ben shouted and kicked the wheel in frustration.

  “I hope that wasn’t directed at me,” Mr Hux said, one eyebrow raised.  

  “It was for the damn battery,” Ben grumbled. “It’s yiddish for _you’ll be the death of me_.”

  “I have to admit it’s fitting,” Mr Hux chuckled. “You’re Jewish?”

  “My mother is. My uncle is rabbi and taught my cousin and me yiddish,” Ben shrugged. “It’ not a big deal, but comes in handy when you want to talk shit about people.”

Mr Hux laughed. He threw his head back and took a step back from the car. His flaming red hair sparkled in the low sunlight and Ben suddenly had the urge to make him laugh more.

  “I can speak Gaelic, but sadly none of my kids have ever taken it up,” he said and chuckled.

  “Really?”

  “My mother taught my brother and me. My favourite swear word is _cúl tóna_ : Dickhead,” Mr Hux explained with a giggle.

Ben snorted at Mr Hux’ almost childish excitement. He hadn’t really expected the seemingly uptight man to this relaxed. Maybe it was because of the weekend.

  “We should get this done or else your trip to Brighton won’t go as planned,” Ben said and brushed his hair out of his face. “I hate to ask this, but could you hold the cord aside with your hand and not with the rod?”

Mr Hux shot him a look and Ben smiled apologetically.

  “Fine, but if I lose a finger, you call the insurance company!” There was a playful edge to Mr Hux’ voice.

  “I will try not to harm you,” Ben promised with a grin.

With a sigh and an eyeroll, Mr Hux reached into the slot and fiddle with the cords that had cost so many of Ben’s nerves. Ben caught sight of Mr Hux’ wedding ring. Poe hadn’t mentioned anything about a _Mrs Hux_. Ben would have to ask him later. To distract himself, he grabbed the battery and sent a short prayer up to the heavens.

Then he heaved the battery up and shoved it into the slot. Mr Hux snatched his hand away just the right moment and the batter slipped into the empty spot easily.

  “Fuck yeah!” Ben yelled. “We did it!”

Mr Hux laughed. Ben wanted to hear that sound over and over again, it made him feel a jittery.  

  “Just hope none of my kids heard that!” He warned with a chuckle.

Before they could celebrate their victory against the shoddy italian workmanship, Finn appeared with a sour faced man in tow. Mr Hux straightened and a slight frown settled on his lips.

  “Thanisson, what are you doing here?” Mr Hux asked, his voice with a slight edge to it.

Ben sized Thanisson up, wondering what had brought this change of mood in Mr Hux. Thanisson was thin. With his blond hair and baby blue eyes he looked a little angelic, but there was a hard line around his mouth. His clothes were tailored and fit his body perfectly. Despite that he looked out of place, unlike Mr Hux who looked at home in his posh clothes.

  “I was merely worried about the process on the Maserati,” Thanisson replied with a soft smile into Mr Hux’ direction

  “Ben and I are making progress,” Mr Hux replied with an arched eyebrow.

Thanisson didn’t even spare a glance into Ben’s direction and something sour rose in Ben’s throat. With only one look he had determined that Thanisson was a career whore. He stood very close to Mr Hux and made eyes at him. Ben shot Finn a look and saw the tight line of the butler’s mouth.

  “I can finish the rest on my own Mr Hux,” Ben said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

  “I’m sure you can,” Thanisson muttered with a fleeting look at Ben. “Armitage has more important things to do than help a mechanic do his work.”

  “I don’t have anything important to do today. I’ve prepared the presentation for the investor yesterday. How I spend my days off is absolutely my thing,” Mr Hux said without missing a beat. “If you have something to discuss with me, you can wait in my office until we’re done.”

Ben bit his lower lip as to not burst out laughing. Thanisson’s face was outraged and how he huffed before bidding his farewells was only adding to Ben’s bad opinion of him.

  “That was a good one, sir,” Finn said with a soft smile.

  “How is the dinner coming along?” Mr Hux asked firmly.

  “I will see if I can help Poe,” Finn replied with a slight bow and turned back to the house.

  “Sorry about that,” Mr Hux began.

  “It’s fine,” Ben said and rubbed his hands on a greasy rag.

  “No, I want to apologize for this. Thanisson is my personal assistant and sometimes thinks himself bigger and better. He usually needs a little reminder who’s in charge and all is well,” Mr Hux stated firmly. “But enough of this man, can I help you some more?” And just like that the smile returned onto his lips.

  


Armitage leaned back in the passenger seat while Ben drove the Maserati through a forest. The sun was still out and warm, so they had put the roof down and Armitage enjoyed the wind playing with his hair. The engine rumbled underneath the hood and sounded to Armitage’s ears heavenly.

  “This car is pure joy!” Ben laughed and took a sharp turn.

  “Don’t break it!” Armitage shouted and giggled as Ben sped out of the forest. “You just fixed it!”

The giddy feeling in Armitage’s chest increased when he looked over to Ben, who was focused on the road, smiling like a child with a new toy. He looked boyish and almost careless.

Armitage bit his lower lip, mind involuntarily wandering to Suzie. She had been the one to encourage Armitage to buy classic cars and usually she had been picked them out. It had been her passion for driving that had fascinated Armitage so much. He missed her. Absently minded he turned the ring on his finger, playing with the small gold band.

She had told him to keep going.

  “Where can I turn around?” Ben suddenly asked, ripping Armitage out of his thoughts.

  “There should be a small town in a few minutes. You can turn around there,” Armitage replied.

  “You good?” Ben looked over to him.

  “Yeah,” Armitage smiled at him.

Ben beamed back and his heart soared again. Armitage looked away and scolded himself. He wasn’t falling for his mechanic, that was ridiculous and stupid. Promising himself not to think about Ben once they returned to the house, Armitage settled into the worn leather seat

* * *

Moodboards: [Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	3. Mark X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! another one.
> 
> Warning: this chapter was edited after two glasses of wine. Most people would be tipsy now, but bc I have zero alcohol tolerance... I'm pretty much drunk. So, there might be some mistakes I overlooked, so pls do be kind. (also it took me wayyy to long to write this without spelling errors)

When Ben entered the shop, Rey was already greased up to her elbows. She had left earlier to walk Chewie on the way to _Solo’s Auto Shop_ and had already begun before the clock.

  “Jesus, do you ever take care?” Ben asked as he looked at her.

  “What?” Rey giggled as she examined her arms. “Do you really think you are better?” She leaned against the side of the car with a cocky smile.

  “Never claimed that. But it usually takes me all day to get that far,” Ben replied and picked up the list of clients for the day.

  “Want some?” Rey stretched one arm out, the other one buried in the inner workings of an old Vauxhall Cresta.

  “Nah, I’m good,” Ben waved her off and looked up when his father walked into the large workshop.

  “Ben, Mr Hux just called. His Jag brakes seem to be damaged. He’s sending Poe and Finn to drop the car off,” Han said and rolled his shoulders. “We can take as long as we like.”

  “Alright,” Ben muttered. “I’ll get started with the crashed Hyundai.”

Han only nodded slowly and walked into the office, leaving the two younger mechanics to their own devices. Snap and Jessica came in not long after that. The two bickered loudly and Rey rolled his eyes at them.

While Ben loosened the screws of a wheel to change the damaged tire, he sang along to the rock music on the radio. Snap and Rey occasionally joined him. Jessica merely drummed the rhythm on the next best piece of metal. They made quite the noise, because neither was good at singing.

Ben was so deep into his work that he only noticed Snap, when the man spoke to him.

  “Ben,” he asked as he looked through one of the screw drawers. “What happened with the Maserati you fixed last weekend?”

  “Why’re you asking?” Ben muttered and lifted the fixed wheel back on the axis.

  “Merely curious,” Snap shrugged, dropping the screws back into the drawer.

  “The alternator belt was a little loose and the battery drained. There were some old cords that I had to change,” Ben explained and turned around to his colleague. “Nothing more than the usual old car illness.”

  “Did you have to replace the wiring harness?” Snap rubbed his chin, smearing it in the process.

  “Why?” Ben frowned and rubbed the grease on his fingers into his old jeans.

  “Cuz’ a friend fried his car’s electrics with a too-strong battery and has to change the wiring now.”

  “Dude, just kick the car into the curb,” Jessica laughed, rolling out from underneath a Range Rover. “The wiring harness is the worst thing to fix. I did it once and it was a bitch I tell you.”

Snap bit his lip and sighed. He looked distressed and tense.

  “What kind of car is it?” Ben asked, taking pity on Snap.

  “It’s a brand new Skoda.”

  “Oh man… How the hell did he manage that?” Jessica sat up and rubbed her neck.

  “Why the fuck should I know?” Snap groaned. “He called me yesterday and said there was an electrical fire under his hood and now the car won’t do anything.”

  “He should call his dealer,” Ben merely said. “That’s something that has to be investigated.”

  “The idiot bought it from a mate,” Snap explained. “And apparently that dude isn’t answering any calls or replying to texts.”

  “Sounds fishy…” Jessica said.

  “Sorry, I think we can’t help with that. That’s something your friend has to figure out on his own,” Ben patted Snap on the back. “And don’t let yourself be robed into some stupid stuff okay?”

  “I’ll try, okay?” Snap sighed and walked back over to his work station.

 

  “The whole car wobbles when you break,” Poe explained to Han when Ben returned from his break.

He swallowed, taking in the scene before him. Han leaned against the Jag with Poe explaining the problems with hands and feet. Snap and Jessica were chatting with Finn. Apparently it was about a movie that would come out this weekend and how excited they were.

Rey was a whole other story. She sat on the concrete floor, mouth open and stared at the car.

Ben knelt down beside her and put a hand on her back. She didn’t move, still in awe by the monstrosity of car before them.

  “Rey you good?” Ben asked softly to shake her from her stupor.

  “It’s a Mark X,” she whispered and blinked. “Oh my god,” she sighed and fell against Ben like a sack of potatoes.

  “Poe, you broke my cousin!” Ben called over to him, pushing her into a sitting position.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Poe came walking towards them, Han in tow. “If you want to complain though, you gotta call Mr Hux. It’s his car.”

  “Why did _you_ bring it here anyway?” Ben asked as he stood up and went to hug Poe.

  “Finn and I needed to do some shopping so we decided to drop it off right away. Finn took our car,” Poe pointed out the window.

  “A BMW M3? Sweet,” Ben whistled

  “That was a present from Mr Hux for our wedding. We were thinking about getting a car and he surprised us with that,” Poe laughed. “He said that he didn’t want us to buy a shitty car.”

  “That was really nice of him,” Ben said with a smile.

  “Ben the Hyundai doesn’t fix itself” Han interrupted them with a sharp look into Ben’s direction. “We will call you when we know what’s exactly wrong with it,” he told Poe.

  “That would be lovely,” Poe beamed back.

Han gave a lopsided smile in reply. Ben had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the slightly pained expression on his father’s face when Poe left.

  “I think that’s the first time in a long time I’ve seen you smile, dad,” Ben muttered into his father’s ear as he put an arm over Han’s shoulder.

  “Watch what you’re saying or I tell Leia to make spinach noodles for dinner,” Han replied with a shit eating grin.

Ben laughed and rolled his eyes at his father. He shoved Han a little when he let go of his father’s shoulders. Han chuckled and flipped him off.

  “I love you too dad!”

  


Ben parked the Mark X on the gravel courtyard behind the Hux’ mansion. The summer son was shining and Ben admired the sparkling chrome parts of the exquisite car. He would haven’t minded it staying longer in the workshop, but Han was inistent to get ‘that big lump o’ car’ out of his hair. When Ben entered the large kitchen Poe stood at the oven, singing to a spanish song on the radio as he wildly swung his hips.

  “Where do I pay for this show?” Ben asked, startling Poe.

  “What the _fuck_ ?” Poe threw a bundled up towel at Ben. “Where the _hell_ did you come from?”

  “I brought the Jag back! What do you think, huh?” Ben threw the towel back at Poe.

 “Your dad called earlier, didn’t he?” Poe caught the towel. “I forgot, sorry. I don’t know where I put my mind today. Have a seat, I just made my abuelita’s almond cookies.”

  “I wouldn’t miss those for the world. Can I help you with something?” Ben asked and set the keys down on the counter.

  “If you want tea, you gotta make it yourself,” Poe pointed at a cupboard. “Mugs are in there, bags in the jar on the counter. And I think you know how to use a kettle.”

Ben nodded and started making tea. When Poe passed him, he slapped Ben’s butt playfully. The two laughed in unison. Ben felt reminded of the time when they had still regularly seen each other after the break up. It had been easy company, never awkward or uncomfortable.

  “Sometimes I miss our school days,” Poe suddenly said, seemingly in the same state of mind as Ben. “Back when we were still young and all that jazz.”

  “Yeah, nothing to worry about other than grades, no bills due, no relatives asking about jobs and kids,” Ben said as he put the mugs down on the kitchen table.

  “Those days were glorious eh?” Poe agreed. “But alas, we had to get old and wrinkly.”

  “I can’t really see any wrinkles,” Ben squinted at Poe’s face.

  “Not on my face. It’s my butt,” Poe stage whispered.

  “Good luck that you’re already married,” Ben joked and sat down at the table.  

Poe bellowed out a laugh and ruffled Ben’s hair affectionately. Then he sighed and grabbed the cookie platter. Sitting down across from Ben, Poe placed the cookies in the middle of the table.

  “Everything okay?” Ben asked, noticing how Poe’s face had fallen.

  “Yeah, just a lot on my plate at the moment. The nanny has retired a few weeks ago and we still have no replacement. Finn and Paige are trying to keep it together, but especially Mitaka is getting worse,” Poe picked up his mug and blew on the hot tea.

  “Mitaka?” Ben asked.

  “The middle kid. He’s eleven and ever since their mother died, he’s mentally unstable,” Poe sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s difficult when he’s doing well and downright abysmal when his mental health is declining.

  “Shit,” Ben leaned back in his seat. “I didn’t know that Mrs Hux was dead. Holy shit.”

  “She died a year ago,” Poe swallowed and looked out of the window. “Suzie was the most important person in this household, keeping everyone together and things running. A little like your mom,” he picked up a cookie and nibbled at i. “Paige has gotten over it fairly well and Rose is fine as well. But little Mitaka… He was a mummy’s boy.”

  “I’m sorry Poe,” Ben reached over and patted Poe’s shoulder. “If there’s anything I can do to help you out, I will do it.”

  “Apply for the job of the nanny,” Poe said seriously, eyes returning to Ben’s face.

  “What?” Ben blinked. “I’m astounded. Why would you suggest that?”

  “Ben think about it,” Poe grabbed Ben’s hand. “Armitage has already seen that you get along with his eldest and that you can take care of Rose’s accidents. You’ve worked as a kindergarten teacher ever since you got out of school and you’re very passionate about it. You’d be perfect for it!”

Ben leaned back in his chair, arching one eyebrow. He thought about it. Poe did have a point.

  “I’ll… I’ll consider it okay?” Ben offered.

  “Thank you,” Poe said and squeezed his hand.

  


  “I think Poe might have had the best idea of his life,” Armitage mused as he put Ben’s application down.

  “You can’t be seriously considering to hire this _mechanic_?” Thomas snapped.

Armitage looked up from his desk, eyebrows lifted and an amused smile on his lips. He watched Thomas pace the room for a bit while Finn poured them both tea. There was something frantic about Thomas’ movements.

  “I have hired you as well,” Armitage said slowly with a self-satisfied smirk on his lips.

  “Good one, sir,” Finn muttered and handed him a cup of tea.

Thomas turned on his heel and stared at the butler. Finn offered a stiff smile and picked up the second cup to carry it over to Thomas.

  “Your tea Mr Thanisson,” Finn said sweetly.

Thanisson huffed and took it out of Finn’s hands before he walked to the window overlooking the backyard. He leaned against the windowsill and threw Armitage a wistful look.

Armitage watched the whole scene play out from his spot behind the table.

  “You will regret this,” Thomas prophesied. “He is a brute, have you looked at him. He will harm the kids, or worse! You never know what these kinds of men get up to… And you want him to work with your kids!”

  “Thanisson!” Armitage snapped and sat the cup down hard. “ _Never_ speak like that ever again! I don’t want to hear these accusations against Mr Organa-Solo ever again.”

Armitage had risen from his desk, pointing at Thomas accusingly. Fury roared in his veins as he glared his assistant down. Thomas swallowed and looked away. As Armitage relaxed back into his chair, he noticed Finn’s clenched fists and how he stared at Thomas as if he contemplated murder.

Armitage picked up his cup again and glumily took a sip.

* * *

 [Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	4. A Lotus' Sharp Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are forgotten, kids open up and our two protagonists are gayer than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy about all the comments and the positive responses I get! Thank you all so much!  
> Featured in this chapter is even more useless car knowledge, some bullshit about kickboxing and one of my fave tropes: Big Ass Men Giggle Like Little Girls. 
> 
> Also I should add, that if you want to see pictures of the featured cars, click the links to the Moodboards at the end of the chapter!

  “Rose, you forgot your lunch!” Ben shouted and grabbed the bag from the kitchen counter.

There was no reply, so he assumed the kids where already out of the door. If he was quick enough he would still be able to catch them before the school bus picked them up. Ben jumped over the couch and flew out of the door, almost colliding with Thanisson who walked up the front stairs. The kids still stood on the foot on the stairs, the school bus waiting for them to climb the steps.

  “Rose,” Ben called and knelt down on the rough gravel. “You forgot your lunch,” he said and handed it to her.

  “Thank you Ben,” she said sweetly and kissed his cheek. “Have a nice day.”

  “You too little one,” Ben replied and helped her climb the steps.

He watched the doors close behind his charges and dusted himself off. For at least a few hours, the house would be quiet and calm until the kids would descend down on it again.

  “You’re making a fool of yourself like that,” Thanisson suddenly said behind Ben.

  “What do you mean?” Ben turned around and arched an eyebrow.

  “It’s not like she would _starve_ in school because she forgot her lunch,” Thanisson said and sneered.

  “Maybe, but she backed cookies with Poe and Mitaka yesterday and wanted to share them to her friends in school,” Ben snapped back. “And since when are you are the kids your concern?” He stomped the steps back up, glaring at Thanisson in the process.

Thanisson elected to stay quiet on that matter and followed Ben inside. Mr Hux just came down the stairs, wearing his usual shirt-vest-combo.

  “Ben, good that I see you. I’ve just received the confirmation email that our hotel is booked for Christmas,” Mr Hux put his tablet down. “Do you know how to ski?”

  “Uhm, no…” Ben replied.

  “Then you will learn,” Mr Hux said confidently. “It’s not particularly hard.”

  “I don’t really follow…” Ben confessed.

  “I booked a 2 week long trip over the Christmas holidays for the five of us. We’re going to Vancouver,” Mr Hux explained absently minded as he went through the mail. “Finn and Poe will look after the house and can take a break from us.”

  “Over Christmas,” Ben repeated and blinked in confusion.

Thanisson snorted behind him as he hung his jacket. Ben fought the urge to roll his eyes.

  “Yes, this won’t be a problem for you I hope?” Mr Hux looked at him for the first time properly. “I can still cancel if you have plans with your family.”

  “I’m Jewish, we don’t _do_ Christmas,” Ben said and tried to keep up the eye contact. “And it’s not a problem, just a surprise.”

  “I haven’t told you?” Mr Hux sounded surprised. “I’m sorry for jumping this on you…”

  “It’s fine, I just gotta call my mum and find out when we’re celebrating Hanukkah,” Ben said and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Doesn’t your _kind_ celebrate Hanukkah around Christmas?” Thanisson suddenly muttered, leaning against the banister.

  “We start celebrating Hanukkah at the 25th of Kislev, which is usually late November or early Dezember,” Ben replied with an icy smile. “So I will be all yours for Christmas,” he turned to Mr Hux.

  “Wonderful. Do you want a few days off to celebrate with your family?” Mr Hux asked, toying with his letters.

  “I’ll see when we’re meeting up at my uncle’s place, then I will tell you okay?” Ben offered.

  “Grand! Get a move on Thomas, we have a lot of things to do!” Mr Hux patted Ben on the back and was off.

With one last venomous look, Thanisson followed his boss into the office. Ben stuck out his tongue at Thanisson’s back. He knew he was being childish.

  “Don’t let Mr Hux see that,” Finn said, coming into the hall from the kitchen.

  “I was yawning,” Ben defended himself. His lips twitched into a lopsided grin.

  “Really?” Finn laughed. “Where did you learn to yawn like that?”

  “From my cousin’s dog,” Ben replied and snorted.

Finn shook his head, still chuckling.

  “What would I do without you…”

  “Bored?”

 

Ben sat outside, letting the last rays of autumn sun warm his face. Quiet steps in gravel neared, but Ben remained seated, eyes closed. Someone sat down beside him, without saying a word. It couldn’t be Rose, who always announced herself loudly and demanded attention. Paige was out for the afternoon with some friends and wouldn’t be back until dinner.

It had to be Mitaka then.

Ben had kept his distance from the boy for various reasons. He had rarely interacted with mentally ill children. Reading up on it only got you that far and he was not overly confident in books. In his mind, nothing beat real life experiences.

And then there was the fact that Mitaka shied away from physical proximity. Poe and Finn were fine, his family as well. But Ben had seen how Mitaka reacted to Paige’s or Rose’s friends. Most memorable had been when Thomas had simply invaded Mitaka’s personal zone.

If Mitaka wanted to interact with Ben, he would wait for Mitaka to approach him. Until then, he would let the boy be. Sure he asked if he wanted to tag along when Ben went out with Paige and Rose. Sometimes Mitaka came along, usually sticking close to Paige. Whenever Mitaka tagged along, Ben would try to be gentle around him.

Ben wanted to earn the boy’s trust and he knew he would have to be patient.

  “A bee,” Mitaka said.

Ben opened his eyes and followed Mitaka’s outstretched finger. A bee sat on a flower nearby.  

  “Yes.”

  “I’m always sad when I see them in autumn. Because they all will die soon.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mr Wilson says that I shouldn’t be, because there will be new ones next spring. That the hive will be _repopulated_ next spring,” Mitaka struggled with the hard word.

  “It’s okay to be sad about these things,” Ben said.

  “Mr Wilson says that I should see the good things.”

  “Mr Wilson is right about that,” Ben squinted at Mitaka, who looked back up at him. “But you are allowed to be sad. I’m sad about the flowers dying for example,” he pointed at the beautiful roses.

  “Yeah,” Mitaka agreed and started to kick his feet in the air. “They will grow back next year.”

 “And they will attract bees.”

Mitaka smiled a little. Ben’s heart beat faster with excitement.

  “Andrew says it’s stupid to be sad about bees dying.”

  “Andrew is a moron.”

Mitaka giggled softly. Ben smiled at him.

With a resolute shove, Mitaka hopped off the bench and vanished into the garden. Ben smiled at himself and leaned back again, closing his eyes. He sighed. Hopefully he was getting somewhere.

  


  “Dad, please,” Paige said. “It’s like, a super important competition.”

Armitage looked up from his computer. It was late afternoon, the low autumn sun was already setting and painted his office in yellow.

  “Paige,” he said softly and pulled his glasses off. “I already told you I was coming.”

  “I’d be literally so happy if you brought Ben along,” Paige played with the hem of her shirt, not looking at her father.

  “Why don’t you ask him?” Armitage sighed, playing with his glasses.

  “Because he already spends so much time with us, helping us with homework and shit.”

  “Paige!” Armitage admonished.

  “Let’s not forget _who_ taught me that,” Paige sassed back.

  “ _Paige…_ ”  

  “Yeah, sorry. Well, what I meant to say that he’s putting a lot of effort into his work. He brings Mitaka to his therapy lessons ever since Mitaka asked him to do that. Whenever Rose has an injury, she runs to him. I don’t want to burden him with a whole evening of kickboxing,” Paige ducked her head.

  “So what you are trying to tell me is that you want me to bring Ben along in a non-work-way?” Armitage asked and leaned back in his chair.

  “Sorta?” Paige bit her lip. “I think if I asked him he’d think he will have to look after me the whole time.”

  “Paige, he’s brought you to practice more often than me since he started working here.”

  “Dad!”

  “I’ll ask him okay? Now get back to your homework and stop worrying about stupid things!”

  “I love you dad,” Paige jumped up from the couch and kissed Armitage’s cheek.

He smiled at his eldest and watched her leave his office. His eyes wandered over to Suzie’s picture and he sighed.

  “She’s going into puberty darling,” he told the photo. “Give me strength.”

  


  “A Lotus?” Ben laughed. “You have a damn _Lotus_?”

  “It’s a classic!” Mr Hux defended.

The two stood in the back courtyard. The sleek black car between them glinted in the low light.

  “It’s a garbage can on fire!” Ben said as he rounded the Eclat. “You know what the badge means?”

  “Lot’s of Trouble, Usually Serious?” Mr Hux leaned against the side of the car with a grin. “Yes, I do. And trust me I know what I am talking about.”

  “How much did you pay for it?”

  “Six hundred bucks from ebay,” Mr Hux said.

  “How did it cost you in repairs?”

  “You should ask your father that, because frankly I forgot. But it’s at least four times the original price,” Mr Hux’ couldn’t hide the slight frown on his lips.

  “Oh shit,” Ben burst out and laughed so hard he had to kneel down. “And you _kept_ it?”

  “As you can see,” Mr Hux stretched out his arms as if to present the car. “It’s a 1978 model. Lotus won the World Championship ‘73, ‘72, ‘70, ‘68, ‘65 and ‘63. And with the new dampers and coils the suspension is way better, new lights and door handles fixed the problem of them breaking the whole time and a complete re-tuning of the engine it runs just as smoothly as it’s supposed to. And obviously after the paint job it even looks better than before.”

Ben couldn’t stop laughing. He leaned his forehead against the cool metal of the car, struggling to breath as he laughed his lungs out.

  “If you are quite done now, we can get going.”

  “Is there any part in this car that’s original?” Ben asked.

  “Maybe the blood stains in the trunk from the last man who mocked this car?” Mr Hux suggested snarkily.  

  “Okay, I get it. You’re just as possessive about your cars as the next man,” Ben rose and brushed his hair back.

  “You drive,” Mr Hux said and threw Ben the keys. “I’m too lazy.”

  “What if something breaks?”

  “Then we have a talented mechanic to fix it,” Mr Hux shot back and rounded the car.

  “With what tools? My bare hands?” Ben asked and showed them to his boss.

  “If you want to keep both of them, you get in the car,” Mr Hux threatened and opened the passenger door.

Ben shook his head and opened his side. The red leather seats looked well-taken care off and were mended in a few places. With a sigh, Ben folded himself behind the steering wheel. To his surprise he had quite a lot of space for his long legs. When he grabbed the steering wheel he laughed again.

  “And you didn’t think to fix the play in the steering?” Ben asked as he shut the door.

  “I did. That’s the most that could be done. Before that I could turn the wheel about a fifth turn with ease,” Mr Hux deadpanned.

  “That makes me a lot more confident in the car,” Ben muttered.

  “Do you really want to end in the boot?” Mr Hux asked.

Ben chuckled, but didn’t reply and started the engine instead. The rumble of the four cylinders was magnificent and Ben gave an appreciative nod.

  “Good soundtrack,” he said and put in the first gear.

  “It sounds better in my opinion than the V6 of the Maserati,” Mr Hux said and leaned back in his seat as Ben drove the elegant car through the gardens to the driveway.

  “It’s less aggressive than the Maserati engine that’s for sure,” Ben agreed. “On the other hand, the Biturbo is faster.”

  “It’s got _two_ turbos, so yeah,” Mr Hux shrugged. “To be honest though, I’ve long ago given up the chase for speed. I rather like a medium powered car with good handling. Speed only kills you _and_ your car.”

  “So you are not counting your ponies?” Ben asked as he turned onto the main road. “You have to tell me where to go by the way. I’ve no idea where the gym is.”

  “I will,” Mr Hux assured. “No. I never did actually. My… My late wife was a car enthusiast. Suzie needled me to buy the Maserati and after that we always chose two or three car to restore each year. Most of them were sold to collectors but some, like this one, we kept for ourselves.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Ben said almost automatically. “That’s why you wanted the Maserati to be fixed that bad.”

  “Yes,” Mr Hux said quietly. “It was _our_ first car.”

Ben had the urge to reach over and comfort his boss. He took one hand from the steering wheel and took Mr Hux’ in his. After a gentle squeeze he let go.

  “Mitaka told me yesterday that he likes you.”

Ben glanced over to Mr Hux. He watched Ben, his green eyes fixed on Ben’s face. Only when Ben returned his attention on the road, Mr Hux spoke again.

  “I’m glad you’re getting along with him. Ann, the former nanny, had been with us for nine years. I was worried that Mitaka would distance himself even more from us,” Mr Hux inhaled. “Thank you for trying your best with him.”

  “He’s my charge,” Ben replied after a moment of thought. “He might not be as open and outgoing as the girls, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t worth the effort to get to know him.”

  “Still. Most people would’ve just worked around him. Do you know how many of the potential nannies I interviewed reacted in a negative way when I told them about Mitaka’s problem?”

  “No kid is easy,” Ben said quietly.

  “Left at the next junction.”

  “Okay,” Ben brushed a stray lock of hair back. “What I’m trying to say is that I rather know the problems that await me rather to be surprised by them. At the daycare I worked in the US, there was a kid with anger issues. Temper tantrums of alarming proportions,” Ben slowed down before he turned. “It was quite a shock for everyone the first time around. Mitaka is tame. Nothing that would hinder me in my work.”

  “I’m just worried that one day you will realize that dealing with my kids is too much.”

  “I don’t think so,” Ben assured Mr Hux. “I don’t think I could bear to leave the kids.” _or you_

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Mr Hux said quietly and reached out to squeeze Ben’s hand on the gear shift.

The touch was electric, jolting up Ben’s arm. He swallowed and felt a bit ridiculous when Mr Hux took his hand back.

  “Should I stay on here?” Ben asked to mask his feelings.

  “Yeah, it’s the fastest way to get to the gym,” Mr Hux said quietly.

Ben hummed and put his foot down. The road was broad but twisty and Ben slowly remembered how to drive stick again. The thrill of slowing down _just_ before the bend drummed through his veins. He used the car’s agility to shoot back out of the bend.

  “Where did that come from?” Mr Hux asked with a chuckle.

  “From the deepest depth of my mind,” Ben said and put his foot down. “I haven’t driven stick for a long time,” he explained as the force pressed them into their seats.

  “You’re good,” Mr Hux muttered appreciatively. “Really good.”

  “Thanks. My father taught me how to drive in the cars that he repaired,” Ben chuckled and took a sharp turn with ease.

  “What?” Mr hux laughed. “Wasn’t that a bit dangerous.”

  “Not really. Because my mother always made sure that I knew what would happen if I crashed them.”

Mr Hux laughed harder. Ben grinned and took full advantage of the nimble car as they shot through the night.

  “Trust me,” Ben said and slowed down as they approached a small town. “She’s terrifying.”

  “I’d love to meet her,” Mr Hux chuckled.

  “No you don’t want to,” Ben assured him with a grin.

  


Armitage trailed his eyes over the gathered crowd. He saw a few of Paige’s friends and nodded into their direction. They politely waved at them and he noted that they stuck their heads together when they saw that Ben sat down beside him.

  “So, how does this go?” Ben asked and crossed his legs. “I’ve never been to a kickboxing competition before.”

  “Paige does points fighting. Meaning she is not bound to knock her opponent out. Though she once did,” Armitage huckled. “I’ll tell you that story sometime. They usually use the normal amount of protection, head guard, mouthguard, gloves and shin guards. Sometimes groin guards, but they tend slow you down.”

  “Wonder how you know that,” Ben muttered and took a sip from his water.

Armitage turned a little in his seat and smirked at Ben.

  “You’re talking to a two time Irish Kickboxing Champion.”

  “Ouh, royalty then,” Ben sassed back.

  “Watch out!” Armitage wagged his finger at him. “I still have some tricks up my sleeve.” Ben laughed. “Anyway… Each fight will be three rounds of about 2 minutes with a minute break between. Whoever scored the most points wins. Quite easy.”

  “How did you win the Championships? And when?”

  “1985 and 1986. I was still in uni back then and we had a kickboxing team and I worked my way up. Not like it’s hard when your opponents always underestimate you. A skinny bugger like me,” Armitage rolled his eyes. “Can I have a sip?”

  “Sure,” Ben handed the bottle over. “That’s really cool man. Paige started because you used to do it then?”

  “Sort of. She broke a finger punching a bully three years ago and I said you either learn to fight or you promise never to pick one. You see where this got us.”

  “Is she good?”

  “The best,” Armitage smirked and handed the bottle back. “Thanks. There’ll be seven fights tonight. The position of the fighters will be decided by drawing their names so no one can complain that there was favoritism.”

  “Is Paige the only one from her studio?” Ben asked.

  “Yes. She’s surpassed most of them and she’s the only one in her age bracket who’s gotten quite that far,” Armitage explained.

  “How do the rounds work?” Ben leaned over to Armitage a little as the background chatter rose.

While Armitage explained how the system worked, more people arrived. Eventually an official arrived, drawing everyone’s attention towards the ring.

Ben was so excited that he reached over and grabbed Armitage’s hand when Paige was announced as the first competitor. When she appeared on the stage, Ben squeezed Armitage’s hand. Two long braids hung down her back, bound tight against her skalp.

  “Who braided her hair that way?” Armitage called over the chatter of the crowd.

  “I did,” Ben shouted back just as the bell went.

While Ben was occupied with watching Paige fight, Armitage stared at Ben with wide eyes. Paige rarely let people do her hair. The fact that Paige had allowed Ben to braid her hair was staggering.

Armitage was ripped out of his mind when Ben hollered loudly, encouraging Paige as she continued her onslaught on her opponent. He smiled and turned towards the ring.

Maybe Ben did more good than he realized. And maybe even more good than Armitage realized.

  


  “Good job,” Armitage told Paige when she came out of the changing room, cheeks still glowing.

  “Thanks,” she pulled him into a crip crushing hug.

  “I love you,” Armitage whispered into her hair and kissed her temple. “So proud.”

She giggled and stepped back. Ben leaned against the wall behind Armitage, obviously not wanting to intrude on the family moment.

  “What do you think Ben?”

  “That I don’t have to worry about someone hurting you,” he replied and pushed away from the wall. “And that I should be worried that one day you go off at me.”

Paige laughed loudly. Two girls walking down the corridor shoot her a look. Armitage watched one lean over to her friend and whisper something. They giggled and Armitage couldn’t stop his face from twisting into a frown.

Ben and Paige jostled each other for a bit before Paige tickled his side. The girlish giggle escaping Ben’s mouth was so unexpected, Armitage almost snapped his neck as he turned his head around.  

  “Ben,” Paige snorted. “That’s adorable!”

  “No, no,” Ben caught her hand as it snuck it’s way back to his side. “Hux tell your daughter to stop.”

  “Oh,” Armitage raised both eyebrows in amusement and his lips twitched into a grin. “I think this is quite enjoyab…” He is interrupted by another fit of giggles.

Ben wheezed and fought Paige as she continued her onslaught. In a last attempt to save himself, Ben batted her hands away and pulled Armitage in front of him.

  “Please stop!” He sounded breathless against the back of Armitage’s neck.

  “No!” Paige tried to reach around Armitage, but her father slowly shook his head.

  “Let your poor nanny have a little rest,” he said quietly and Paige dropped her hands.

  “Fine, but he’s not off the hook,” Paige warned and picked up her bag. “Let’s go then. I’ll just say goodbye to my teacher.”

  “We’ll wait at the entrance,” Armitage assured her.

She left them in the corridor, hurrying off.

Ben sighed and rubbed his neck. His short moved up a little and Armitage tried his best not to stare at Ben’s chest trying to rip through the fabric.

  “She’s a real handful.”

  “Just _wait_ until she hits puberty,” Armitage warned.

  “I forgot about puberty,” Ben said, sounding dumbfounded.

  “What a nanny you are,” Armitage mocked, but without venom.

When he looked at Ben, he caught the smirk on the other’s lips. The urge to kiss him arose in Armitage’s mind. Instead he grinned back.

* * *

[Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	5. The Range of Sports

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen, Mitaka doesn't approve of something and Armitage can barely contain his gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG!!  
> Life has gotten in my way with me working again and then there's school and exams and SLEEP and even more unnecessary things like eating and social life.  
> This chapter has kinda gotten away from me. After 8 fucking pages i had barely gotten half of the planned plot into it and already was crying bc i was thinking about editing (another reason why it took so long. I HATE editing). So now we're at 14 pages... Yeah so much for keeping the plot together eh.  
> Prepare of gay pining, snow and even more cars.

Ben scrolled through his facebook timeline and groaned. There were too many pictures of him on his relative’s pages. He liked Hanukkah, but he certainly _hated_ the ridiculous amount of pictures spreading everywhere. His relatives were almost addicted to photos. Everything seemed to warrant a picture.

Luke’s new adopted baby threw up? _Photo_.

Chewie eating something that he definitely shouldn’t be eating? _Photo_.

Leia reapplying her lipstick in the reflection of a silver plate on the wall? _Photo_.

Ben in his stupid Hanukkah sweater? _Twenty_ _Photos_.

  “Just shoot me,” Ben said and dropped his phone on his stomach.

  “What’s going on?” Mr Hux asked.

Ben sat up from the sofa and turned around. His boss stood at the small side table in the hall, going through his mail. Mr Hux looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

  “My relatives love to post everything happening in their lifes on facebook. And that includes embarrassing photos from Hanukkah,” Ben unlocked his phone and showed the photo of him and Rey in matching sweaters to Mr Hux.

  “That’s quite adorable,” Mr Hux said.

  “I’m twenty-five and Rey is twenty-one. I think I’ve quite outgrown _adorable_ ,” Ben sighed. “Mum insists on those sweaters.”

  “You’ve still got it in you, trust me,” Mr Hux replied with a cheeky smile. “I should buy matching sweater for my kids…”

Ignoring Ben’s protests, Mr Hux walked into his office, chuckling all the way.

 

  “That was an ordeal,” Ben muttered as he pushed his luggage trolley out of the airport building.

Mr Hux hummed in agreement and maneuvered his own trolley around the poles. Both trolleys were full of luggage and kids. Ben pushed Mitaka and Rose around while Paige slept on a large bag on Mr Hux’ trolley.

  “The car rental is over there,” Mr Hux pointed to a sign attached to the oustside of the parking structure across the road. .

His voice was raspy and he had small eyes from the few hours of sleep on the plane. Ben felt like shit himself, but he tried not to show his exhaustion. He nodded when Mr Hux turned to him.

  “I was worried for a second that you’d fallen asleep as well,” he said with a laugh.

  “You know, I can drive if you aren’t feeling like it,” Ben offered.

  “That would be lovely,” Mr Hux replied with a grateful smile. “I’m super jet lagged.”

  “Don’t worry,” Ben assured him and smiled back.

For a few seconds neither of them noticed that they had stopped walking. Then Rose lifted her head off her arms and blinked slowly before she yawned loudly.

  “Why aren’t we moving? Did we run out of fuel?”

Ben flushed and broke eye contact with his boss. He pushed his trolley forward again and Mr Hux followed shortly after.

 

Armitage watched Ben load the car and put the kids into their seats. He felt a little useless, clinging to the trolley. There was simply not enough energy to do anything but that. Ben smiled softly at him. Where he got the energy from to still function as ever was a mystery.

Without speaking they brought the trolleys back and climbed into the car. After Armitage had fastened the seat belt he sighed deeply.

  “The kids are still sleeping,” Ben chuckled as he adjusted the rear view mirror.

  “They’re always knackered after a long flight. That’s why we’re always flying Fridays so they have two days for them to adjust before their ski school starts,” Armitage explained and closed his eyes.

  “I need the adresse of the hotel,” Ben said and started the engine.

  “I’ll punch it in, just head towards Vancouver for now,” Armitage muttered and leaned forward to reach the sat nav.

While Ben sorted himself out and put in drive, Armitage tried to get the hang of Range Rover’s horrid touch screen. They were on the motorway for a few minutes already when Armitage finally coaxed the sat nav into doing what he wanted.

He fell back into his seat, utterly frustrated by the current state of events. Ben turned on the radio and soft pop music floated out of the speakers.

  “Its an hour drive. You should sleep a little,” Ben said gently.

  “You won’t mind?” Armitage turned to look at Ben.

  “No,” Ben replied with a smile, eyes not leaving the road. “Sleep, you need it.”

Armitage hummed and settled into the seat. He noticed that Ben set the seat heater and turned up the heat as well before he was out.

He was dreaming of laying in a large bed with fluffy blankets. It was warm and soft. There were strong arms around him, holding him close to someone’s body. It was wonderful.

 

After just a few hours of sleep Ben forced himself out of bed. He had his own way of dealing with jet lags and instead of sleeping them out, he would fight his own body. He had showered before he had fallen into his bed and his hair looked atrocious. With a sigh he went and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

  “Jesus Christ,” he told his wrecked reflection.

It would do no good to stare at the circles under his eyes all morning so he washed his face and got dressed. After that he decided to get started on the chaos on his head. He was tempted to cut it all off but knew he would regret it. Digging out his brush and two hair ties he got started.

In the end, he managed something like a hairstyle with all of his hair up and out of his face. He smiled and admired his work. Hopefully it would stay there and not disintegrate after a small breeze.

Ben glanced on his phone when he sat down to put his shoes on. Rey had texted him.

 

 

Ben rolled his eyes and quickly replied to her.

He grabbed his keycard and left his room. His phone pinged and he pulled it out as he pulled the door shut.

  “What… Oh fuck you. Why the hell are you two even up?”

He texted back and hoped he’d hear the end of that. Just before he had reached the elevators, his phone buzzed again.

   "Great job mum, well done..."

As he rode the elevator down to the restaurant, he sent two texts to Mr Hux, just in case. They hadn’t really discussed last night what to do in the morning, so he assumed Mr Hux would sleep his jet lag out.

The elevator stopped and Ben got out. The receptionist, a young woman gave him a bright smile, eyes roaming his body appreciatively. He licked his lips nervously and fled to the breakfast area. As he picked up a plate he looked around for a free table. A flame of orange caught his eye.

Mr Hux sat at a chair by the window, reading a paper spread out over the table as he sipped a cup of tea. Ben trailed his eyes over Mr Hux’ figure. He had left his shirt-slacks combo behind and wore a tight fitting blue turtleneck and beige corduroy pants. To add to his new looks, he wore a pair of steel rimmed glasses.

Ben quickly filled his plate and walked over to his boss.

  “Morning,” he said quietly.

  “Ben,” Mr Hux looked up and pulled his glasses off. “I just read your texts.”

  “May I sit?” Ben asked.

  “Sure,” Mr Hux folded the paper and pushed it aside. “Have a seat.”

  “Thanks,” Ben put his plate down and pulled out a chair. “What are your plans for today?”

  “Not sleeping,” Mr Hux said with a sigh. “You said you’d like to take a walk. I know a few nice trails around here.”

  “The kids are sleeping?” Ben asked.

  “Yes. And even if they got out of bed, they won’t leave the hotel for anything,” Mr Hux shrugged. “They will watch TV or read.”

  “So they are sorted,” Ben murmured and spread butter on his toast.

  “More or less,” Mr Hux confirmed.

  “Then I’d like to take you up on your offer of going on a hike,” Ben said an bit into his honey toast.

  “There’s a nice trail an hour from here, takes about an hour and a half. We can have lunch there and drive back and spend the rest of the time either reading or in the spa,” Mr Hux suggested.

  “You’re the boss,” Ben joked.

  “I’m aware. But we’re both on holiday and I don’t want to order you around,” Mr Hux replied with a small grin playing around his lips.

  “It sounds brilliant,” Ben said with a bright smile.

It had to be a trick of light because Mr Hux looked as is he was blushing.

 

  “Can you ski?” Paige asked Ben during dinner.

The kids looked still tired and Rose had already went back upstairs to sleep some more. Armitage looked up from his plate and looked at Ben who smiled nervously.

  “No,” Ben said with a chuckle. “Never learned.”

  “Not even when you were in America?” Armitage asked.

  “Nah, I don’t really like the cold? And my mom always said that I already have one dangerous hobby, I don’t need more than that,” Ben shrugged.

  “And you’re listening to your mother?” Paige giggled loudly.

  “Yes. Because she’s right and I’ve scared her enough with my biking accidents,” Ben explained and shifted in his seat.. “To be honest, I’m a bit scared myself.”

  “You’re scared?” Paige stared at Ben, tone unbelieving.

  “Paige, even adults are scared of some things,” Armitage said calmly. “And I don’t think we should continue this conversation.”

Once dinner and dessert was over, Paige and Mitaka went back upstairs. Ben and Armitage were left behind, both with the remaining wine shared between them.

  “Sorry about earlier,” Armitage said quietly.

  “No worries,” Ben shrugged. “I’m not really someone you’d expect to be scared of shit.”

  “We both know that’s bullshit,” Armitage sighed. “I’m scared of a lot of things as well, but I just don’t want to to show the kids that. Losing… Losing Suzie brought a few things into perspective.”

  “Death does that,” Ben replied.

They remained silent for a few seconds until Armitage inhaled deeply. He saw that there was something lurking on Ben’s mind.

  “Who did you lose?”

  “My grandfather. We… We were close,” Ben got little choked up. “He went out like he lived. Got a stroke on his bike,” he closed his eyes. “The worst thing was that they brought the remains of the bike to us and… I had worked on it a few days prior.”

  “Oh god,” Armitage whispered and leaned over the table to grab both of Ben’s hands.

  “It was horrible,” Ben choked out.

  “I’m sorry for bringing that up,” Armitage stuttered squeezing Ben’s hands.

  “Now we’re even,” Ben replied. “You and your wife, grandpa and me.”

  “I guess,” Armitage said. “Still, I feel bad for bringing back bad memories.”

  “I can’t stay away from his memory even if I tried. I look at a car, any car really, and think about him. He was passionate about cars and brought Rey and me to a lot of scrap sales and auctions,” Ben sighed. “He didn’t really get along with my mother, but he loved his grandkids.”

Armitage didn’t know what to reply and squeezed Ben’s hands instead. He got a weak smile in reply. Ben’s cheeks were a little wet and Armitage was about to say something when the waiter stopped at their table and their moment was interrupted.

 

  “Are we on the set of Sex and the City?”

Ben was startled from his doze on the sundeck when someone sat down beside him. He sat up and stared right at his boss, wearing his skiing clothes.

  “How they let you up here with those ridiculous boots is a mystery to me,” Ben shot back with a grin.

  “I’m paying them enough,” Mr Hux replied equally sharply. “How do you like it up here?”

  “The view is great. This whole thing is great. I didn’t know that hotels even had private sundecks.”

  “Just a few of them,” Mr Hux smiled and pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his helmet. “Not many ski lodges let them do it. It spoils their own profits you know.”

  “What can I bring you?” A waitress asked, stopping by Armitage’s side.

  “A coffee would be lovely,” Mr Hux said with a bright smile. “And a glass of non-sparkling water.”

  “Certainly,” she replied and was off again.

  “How is the snow?” Ben asked and took a sip from his hot chocolate.

  “It’s lovely. Just cold enough for it not to be slushy and warm enough not to be chilly,” Mr Hux smiled. “I really missed this.”

  “Skiing?” Ben asked.

  “Yes and no. Just… Being cut off from my phone, not being able to answer calls all the time. Being outside for once is nice as well,” Mr Hux laughed.

  “Aren’t you being missed though?” Ben asked and sat his mug down.

  “Don’t think so. My department is temporarily run by my most able subordinate and my boss always tries to act as if family is the most important thing and is _valued_.”

  “You’ve left Thanisson in charge?” Ben asked in disbelief.

  “God forbid no,” Mr Hux laughed and rolled his eyes. “No, it’s Ms Holdo. I think you’ve seen her before. She occasionally pops in when she has issues she needs to be taken care of immediately.”

  “She’s good?”

  “Brilliant,” Mr Hux mused. “I’ve seen her handle quite a lot of problematic situations without batting an eye. Doing legal work for a company as big as First Order you have to weather a lot of storms.”

  “Your coffee sir,” the waitress set down the beverages on a small side table. “Can I get your room number?”

While Mr Hux replied, Ben used the short moment to watch his boss. In the beginning he had thought that he was aloof and maybe even a little cruel. Ben couldn’t have been more wrong. Mr Hux hated incompetence and he hated bootlicking. He got impatient when someone was mucking about.

When he was amiable he could charm anyone. Mr Hux was sweet and lovely. All of his kids were treated with the same amount love as the next. Neither Finn nor Poe would say anything bad about him, even if you would pay them.

  “You look deep in thought,” Mr Hux said suddenly.

  “Yes, sorry. I was just thinking,” Ben confessed.

Neither spoke for a few minutes, Ben frantically searching for something to talk about. Mr Hux sat slightly reclined in his chair and watched the people around them.

  “We could go tobogganing,” he said suddenly.

  “What now?” Ben asked, thinking he misheard.

  “Sledding but cooler,” Mr Hux shrugged. “I was merely thinking that you should at least do one snow sport if you’re already here. Paige used to go with me, but she said it was stupid.”

  “If you show me how to… Then why not,” Ben replied with a smile. “I’d love to do more than just sit around here all day.”

  “Don’t you enjoy the peace?”

  “Peace?” Ben asked and pointed at two kids running between the chair, yelling loudly.

Mr Hux laughed and Ben was hit by how beautiful it sounded. He smiled back and soaked up the moment.

 

  “Why did you get a Range Rover?” Ben asked when he climbed into the passenger seat.

  “It’s one of the best cars for this weather,” Armitage defended himself, starting the engine.

  “That would be a Ford Raptor,” Ben shot back with a smirk. “My roommate had one of them and let me use it whenever he didn’t need it. It was magnificent.”

  “A pick-up,” Armitage said, disgust dripping from his lip as he pulled off the curb and into the moving traffic.

  “You have the same bullshit attitude towards pick-ups as the next Brit.”

  “Mate… I’m Irish,” Armitage replied with an arched eyebrow. “Also… There is no reason to have a pick-up unless you have a lot of stuff to haul around. Plus, where the fuck would you park it outside of America or Canada?”

  “Sure it’s massive, but you can do everything with that car. Dessert? Snow storm? Water? Uneven gravel?” Ben smiled. “It’s amazing.”

  “I will not buy a Raptor. I’d rather buy a _Vauxhaul_ than a Raptor,” Armitage said. “And that’s the last I want to hear of the matter.”

Ben laughed and Armitage couldn’t help himself and grinned. He knew this was a little ridiculous, but he loved it. Just arguing with someone about something as trivial as a car. Laughing about stupid things. He hadn’t done that in a while. Maybe sometimes with Finn or Holdo. And even then it had felt weird.

With Ben… It was different. It felt natural, organic. Like it was supposed to be like that.

 

Ben stared at the sled and back at Mr Hux again. He bit his lower lip and sighed.

  “It’s kind of a terrifying prospect to be sitting on that thing with you. And it doesn’t even have breaks or anything,” Ben muttered.

  “We won’t die today,” Mr Hux promised. “Come on, let’s see if you like it.”

Without waiting for Ben’s protest, Mr Hux grabbed his arm and dragged him a long. Ben felt nervous and the wonky ride in the cable railway was not helping. Mr Hux was completely relaxed and looked out of the window.

Once they had reached the top of the mountain, Mr Hux hauled the sled out of the cabin and motioned Ben to follow him. The air was crisp and clear as Mr Hux walked over to the start of the sledding slope. Ben looked at Mr Hux, begging him with his eyes to let him off.

  “No puppy eyes. I have three kids, I’m immune,” Mr Hux said sternly.

  “Fine. But you sit at the front,” Ben replied stubbornly.

  “So that your body crushes mine when we have an accident?” Mr Hux grumbled. “Sit down and scoot to the back.”

While Ben arranged himself on the wooden sled, he sent a few prayers up. Maybe he wouldn’t need them, but better be safe than sorry. When Mr Hux sat down in front of him, Ben became painfully aware of how close their bodies were.

  “Put your arms around me and close your knees,” Mr Hux ordered as he picked up the robe at the front. “It’s not much different than biking. Just follow my lead.”

Ben swallowed and put his arms around his boss and inhaled deeply. Everywhere their bodies touched, Ben was painfully aware of every little movement. He was so focused on that that he didn’t even notice that they were off down the tight, long slope.

It was fast. And kind of intoxicating. Ben loved it, how fast it was, how much the sled shook. Despite Mr Hux experience, they crashed into the first bend. Ben did land on Mr Hux, but tried his best not to crush the other man.

  “That went well,” Ben said and rolled on his side.

  “You are worse than Paige. You’re an even bigger lump of potatoes than her!”

  “What?”

  “You’re stiff, you don’t even move and inch. When we go round a bend, you lean to the outside and put your inside foot down,” Mr Hux shoved him.

  “You gotta tell me that!” Ben shouted back and threw a handful snow at Mr Hux.

  “What did you just do?” Mr Hux retaliated by jumping at Ben.

They started rubbing snow into each other’s face and necks. They made quite the racked and hurled insults at each other. Ben couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Somehow Mr Hux got the upper hand and sat down on Ben’s hips, shoving handfuls of snow into Ben’s scarf. Ben howled and Mr Hux giggled loudly. Eventually the onslaught was halted and Mr Hux looked down on Ben.

  “Do you give up?”

  “Keynmol!” Ben shouted and shoved a fistful of snow under Mr Hux’ shirt. _Never_

  “Motherfu…” Mr Hux shrieked out and arched up.

  “Sucks to be you I guess,” Ben grinned at him.

  “ _Gabh Transna Ort Fhéin_ .” _Go fuck yourself sideways._

Mr Hux started his counter attack. Ben couldn’t stop laughing as Mr Hux piled snow up on Ben’s face and chest.

It took them quite some time to calm down and get on with the sledding. And even then they messed up at almost every given opportunity.

 

Ben’s mind was haunted by the memory of the tobogganing. He had been so close, almost intimate with Mr Hux. The last two days he had spent turning the whole thing over and over in his mind. He had even gone that far as to avoid his boss sometimes. It was a weak ass move, but he only needed time to figure it all out.

Now, at the end of the first week, Ben already wished for the day of their departure. Glancing down on his watch he looked around, searching for Rose’s and Mitaka’s skiing group. When he spotted them, he made his way over.

  “BEN!” Rose shrieked and ran towards him as fast as she could with her clunky boots.

  “Hey stump!” Ben exclaimed and picked her up. “How was today?”

  “Awesome!” She shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

  “That’s lovely to hear,” Ben said and put her down.

Mitaka smiled at Ben and grabbed his other hand the second it got was free. The kids’ instructor walked over to them and smiled at Ben directly. He was tall and had light brown, wavy hair. Ben found him attractive in an Abercrombie-and-Fitch-ad-way.

  “I’m Andrew,” he introduced himself. “I just wanted to give you your children’s certificates.”

  “They… Aren’t mine. I’m just the nanny,” Ben said with a laugh. “I’m Ben.”

  “Oh… I’m sorry for assuming,” Andrew smiled. “Uhm, the certificates.”

  “Thank you,” Ben let go of Rose’s hand and took them. “Thank you for your patience. Rose has told me that she had a lot of questions for you,” he said and tucked the two envelopes into the pocket of his down jacket.

  “It was nothing!” Andrew replied. “I’m always happy to have attentive students,” he smiled broadly at Rose. “They are a both a delight.”

  “Yeah,” Ben looked at his charges and smiled.

  “Do you have an evening off?” Andrew asked suddenly.

  “Ah… Yes. Tomorrow night I think,” Ben replied.

  “Would you be averse to dinner with me?” Andrew smiled nervously.

  “Dinner sounds lovely.” Ben said with a small smile himself.

After they exchanged numbers, Ben brought the kids to the car. Rose told him that they had done a competition that day and that Mitaka had placed second. When Ben put Mitaka into his seat, the boy looked at him.

  “Do you like Andrew?” He asked quietly, whispering into Ben’s ear.

  “He’s nice,” Ben replied.

  “Dad’s nice too,” Mitaka whispered back and turned his head away.

Ben looked at his charge and furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn’t know where this came from, but Rose chirped that she wanted to get home and tell her father about today, so Ben shoved the exchange to the back of his mind, where he forgot all about it when they arrived at the hotel.

 

Andrew had promised to pick Ben up and he was already ten minutes late. There was nothing Ben disliked more than lateness. It wasn’t hard to be one time. Really.

Ben frowned at the revolving glass door and pulled his phone out. No new messages from Andrew and nothing from his family. He sent Rey a few pictures he took from the sun terrace that day and sighed.

  “Ben?” Andrew suddenly appeared by his side. “I’m so sorry, the traffic was terrible.”

  “No problem,” he forced out. “Glad you’re finally here.”

The two hugged. Just then Mr Hux left the elevator across the entrance hall of the hotel. The look he threw Andrew was unreadable from such a distance. Ben was only glad that the kids weren’t around. He didn’t really want to explain why he wouldn’t be at dinner with them.

  “Let’s go then.” Andrew said and Ben followed him.

Andrew drove a Honda Civic Type R. Maybe that should’ve been a red flag, but Ben tried to ignore it. Just as he tried to ignore the horrid driving Andrew produced. He seemed to be even proud telling Ben how cool his car was. When he got started on the mods the car had undergone, Ben tried not roll his eyes.

Just from hearing what Andrew had changed on an already very obnoxious car, Ben’s hair stood on end. When he looked out of the window to stare at the passing buildings, Andrew simply prattled on, not noticing that Ben was bored out of his mind.

  “This restaurant I picked is one of my favourites!” Andrew explained excitedly. “I go whenever I work here.”

  “You aren’t from around?” Ben asked, a little confused.

  “No, I live in the US and come over for the winter season to work here,” Andrew said and pulled into a parking garage.

They fell silent again until Andrew had parked the car and both had gotten out. Ben threw the car one last look and tried to hide his disgusted frown. He _really_ dislike this thing.

  “Look at that ratty old pile of shit,” Andrew laughed and pointed at an old BMW. “Why would anyone buy that car? I mean it’s old and fuck ugly.”

  “People have different tastes,” Ben replied lamely, not feeling up for a discussion of cars.

To his horror, the driver of the BMW walked towards them and by the looks of it she had definitely heard them. Ben flushed and offered the woman an apologetic smile while Andrew strode on. She  only arched her eyebrow at Ben and shot Andrew a calculating look.

  “What a bitch,” Andrew said when they were in the elevator, travelling back up to street level. “That look she gave us.”

Ben bit his lip. He wanted to retort that only Andrew had been deserving of that look, but he kept telling himself that it was only polite to not insult his date until he really fucked up.

It didn’t get better in the restaurant. Andrew openly ogled the waitresses butt, saying something along the line of how awesome bisexualitly was. Ben hated to admit it, but Andrew was the picture perfect American. Loud, obnoxious and rude. It didn’t look good on him.

Ben had spent his time in the US with a lot of people, but he had never met someone who confirmed all the dirty dump stereotypes people had of American’s. The only thing that was missing was a goddamn flag inked on his butt or something. Ben really hope he wouldn’t have to find out if that was true.

They were chatting about trivial things and Andrew got even more chances to redeem himself in Ben’s eyes. But nothing happened. Andrew kept being an ass and at some point his phone rang.

And he picked up.

And started a long conversation with the caller.

At some point Ben felt tempted to just get up and leave. Instead he started people watching. There were a few couples sitting around, chatting with each other. Two young girls sat in a booth together, giggling over something they were watching on a cell phone. For a minute Ben caught what Andrew was saying.

  “... Yeah and that old _nigger_ can suck my ass, I want my money back…”

Ben stood up and left.

 

When Armitage heard Ben next door, he got up from his sofa and walked over to the door separating their rooms. He quietly knocked.

  “Ben?” He called quietly.

  “Yes?” The door opened and Ben stood in front of him.

  “You’re home early,” Armitage observed carefully.

  “He was a douchebag and I left while he was on the phone. Don’t think he even noticed until I was in the taxi,” Ben replied and stepped aside. “Do come in.”

  “What did he do?” Armitage asked and walked from his room into Ben’s.

  “Well… Where do I begin?” Ben sat down on the couch and Armitage mimicked him. “He drives a Civic Type R and he drives it so, _so_ badly. Then he proceeded to mock a young woman with an old BMW 3-series and acted as if I was on his side when she gave him a pissed look.”

  “Oh my god,” Armitage snorted. “What the hell.”

  “Yep,” Ben leaned back and ruffled his hair. “Any subject we were talking about he had to dominate with his opinion and had to have the last damn word. I’ve lived and worked with countless Americans in the last three years and he was the most American one. He was _so_ obnoxious.”

  “What made you leave?” Armitage asked.

  “He used the n-slur during a long-ass phone call.”

Ben looked done with the world and humanity and Armitage felt for him. He made a disgusted sound and reached over to take Ben’s hand.

  “That’s rank,” Armitage said softly.

  “Yes. I am such an idiot for thinking that for once I could go on a date that isn’t fucking weird,” Ben sighed.

Armitage hummed in agreement and rubbed his fingers over Ben’s rough knuckles. For a few minutes the two just sat there in companionable silence. Armitage felt the stress ease off Ben as he relaxed further into the sofa. With a soft sigh, Ben closed his eyes and leaned back.

  “I just ask myself if I attract only assholes.”

  “Why?” Armitage asked softly.

  “Because I can’t really remember that dating an non-asshole. Every dude I went out with since Poe was a dickhead one way or another,” Ben sighed, sounding annoyed and distressed.

  “I’ve always believed that there’s only one person for you that you can be happy with. Since Suzie died… I’ve changed my mind. She made me promise not to lose faith in love,” Armitage murmured. “For a while I did. Then… I tried to look forward again. For my kids’ sake. For mine. I’ve realized that everything we do is built on faith. And trust me… I’m a very rational man.”

  “It’s just… I sometimes look at my cousin and her girlfriend and they are so happy. And my parents as well. There’s my uncle and his husband. And I wonder if I’m doomed to a live alone,” Ben whispered.

  “You will never be alone Ben,” Armitage said gently.

  “You have kids Mr Hux. What do I have?”

  “I think you can call me by my first name now…” Armitage said gently.  “You have your friends, you have your family. You don’t need a life partner to achieve happiness.”

  “Are you happy Armitage?”

  “Right now?” Armitage turned to Ben. “Yes.”

  “Really?”

  “Ever since you’ve started working I’ve been a lot happier.”

Ben smiled softly and laughed, averting his eyes.

  “Thanks,” he said quietly.

They still held hands. Somehow they fell asleep like that.

* * *

 [Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	6. Merc 600

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are tears, ice cream cones and massive cars. Just a normal day in the Hux household

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are tears, but they aren't bc something bad has happened, all of them are well and happy.  
> Also: There is a scene sort of missing, I will have to see if it's completely gone or just messed up, but I might be adding that later, but didn't want ya'll to wait that long.

Phasma whistled when Finn let her into the house. So far she had only seen the kitchen and the backyard, but this was something else entirely. While Phasma admired the entrance hall, Leia handed her leather jacket over to Finn. She smirked at Phasma and leaned on Finn’s shoulder.  

  “Told you that Ben now lives like a damn prince,” Leia said.

  “Seriously, it’s really fancy,” Phasma pointed up at the ceiling. “Are those real crystals?”

  “Yes and the bane of my existence,” Finn confirmed, completely unfazed by the woman leaning on his shoulder.  

Phasma chuckled and Leia laughed loudly, slapping Finn on the shoulder. With a long suffering sigh, Finn moved out of Leia’s orbit and gave Ben a relieved smile when he spotted the other man on the gallery.

  “I’d know that laugh anywhere,” Ben said as he walked down the stairs.

  “Benny!” Leia exclaimed and embraced him, kissing both of his cheeks. “How was Vancouver.”

  “Very nice, very cold and very exciting,” Ben explained, awkwardly hunched over and still in the clutches of his mother. “Finn stop lurking around, I’m not going to tell them while you are around.”

  “You never tell me anything. You haven’t even told _Poe_!” Finn grumbled.

  “Yeah, for a reason…” Ben shot back, extracting himself from his mother’s grip. “Because both of you are meddling idiots.”

  “Tz,” Finn turned his nose up at Ben dramatically. “Now find someone to iron your shirts.”

  “Jokes on you, I iron my shirts myself. My mom didn’t raise a fool.”

  “Well said Benny,” Leia kissed her son’s cheek, pulling him on her level by his chin.

Ben grinned at Finn, mimicking his mother’s smirk. Finn only rolled his eyes at them and vanished into the kitchen.

 

Ben quickly ushered his mother and Phasma into the chimney longue, because he knew neither the kids nor the staff would be around that part of the house. The winter sun fell through the high windows and illuminated the room. Ben sighed when he closed the door.

  “It’s quite a fancy place,” Phasma said as she dropped on one of the couches. “I _like_ it!”

  “We saw a man leave just as we came. Thin, blonde and stiff,” Leia sat down into one of the high armchairs and brushed her hands over her jeans.

  “That was Thanisson, Mr Hux’ assistant,” Ben explained and took his seat beside Phasma.

  “That’s one uptight asshole,” Phasma muttered under her breath.

  “I don’t know if I’m legally allowed to comment on that,” Ben said and sighed.

Phasma barked out a laugh and shook her head.

  “How was Vancouver?” Leia asked instead of pressing on.

  “It was very nice,” Ben begann.

While Ben told them about the flight and the hotel, he kept thinking about whether or not it was a good idea to tell them about the horrible date. He told them about the sun terrace and the amazing food, just to make them jealous. As expected they both complained and moaned about how unfair life was. 

  “And then I went on a date with the skiing instructor of Mitaka and Rose. And… Eh… It didn’t went well,” Ben rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.

  “What happened?” Phasma shifted on her side of the sofa.

  “Well…” Ben leaned his head on the back of the sofa. “He was kinda late and drove a Honda Civic R,” he chuckled when both women pulled a face. “Andrew had a horrible driving style and while the restaurant he picked was nice, he himself didn’t really know how to charm. When he used the n-slur during a phone call in the middle of the date, I left and paid for my half of the food on my way out.”

Ben finished with a fake smile.

  “Oh, Ben. I’m so sorry to hear that…” Leia reached over to pat his hand. “Baby, you are not alone…”

  “Funny, that’s what Armitage said as well. Uh… I mean Mr Hux.”

Phasma arched one of her eyebrows and smirked.

  “Armitage, eh?”

  “He offered it to me when I told him about my terrible date,” Ben defended himself. “Armitage was very understanding when I told him about me not finding any good guys to date. I told him that sometimes I felt lonely and he told me that when his wife died he lost all hope of finding love again.”

  “And then what? You fell asleep holding hands after your heart to heart?” Phasma asked as a joke.

Ben flushed and ducked his head.

  “Hold up! I _need_ to tell Rey about that!” Phasma shouted and pulled out her phone.

Before Ben could stop her, she bolted from the room and slammed the door shut behind her. Leia sighed heavily and stood up.

  “Let her. This is the most interesting thing that has happened in your love life in quite some time. Let her share it with Rey,” she said softly and sat down beside her son.

  “Love life?” Ben asked confused.

Leia only sighed again and took his hand to pat it.

 

  “Ben…” Paige pulled on Ben’s shirt sleeve.

  “Mh?” He turned around to look at his oldest charge.

  “Uhm… I have a question for you?” Paige inhaled deeply.

  “Yes,” Ben rubbed his dirty fingers into the rag and stuffed it into the back pocket of his greasy jeans. “Let me just shut the hood.”

After the hood of the Mark X was closed, the two leaned against it and Paige took another deep breath. There was a tight line around her eyes. She licked her lips and opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

  “Paige, you don’t have to tell me.”

  “I want to,” she whispered, voice breaking. “I… I’m getting bullied. Sort of.”

  “You’re getting _bullied_?” Ben asked, feeling dread settle in his stomach.

  “Yes,” Paige swallowed. “Uhm… There’s Lucy, kind of the coolest girl at my school, and her friends. She always throws drunken parties and stuff and never really invited me or my friends, because we’re not ‘cool’ enough in her eyes… Someone outed me a few weeks ago,” Paige trailed off, turning her eyes away.

  “And Lucy got wind and now she’s on your tail.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me earlier. Or your dad,” Ben pulled Paige close, holding her tight.

  “You are all so busy, I didn't want to intrude!” Paige sobbed against his chest. “Dad’s always in his office and Thanisson scares me and I don’t want to talk about that stuff around him.”

  “You haven’t come out to your dad?” Ben asked her softly. When she shook her head no, he sighed. “Paige… You should tell Armitage. I don’t think that he’s the kind of person to judge you differently. Think of Poe and Finn. Think of me and my that terrible date I had in Vancouver. Not once he seemed to be fazed by these kind of things.”

  “Do you think so?” Paige looked up at him, tears in her brown eyes.  

  “Paige,” Ben whispered gently. “Christ… He loves you more than _anything_ in this world. All three of you are so _so_ important to him. He might be bad at showing his affection, but there’s no point in denying that it’s there. Your father is not very good with feelings. He shows it with actions. Your father is at every single one of your competitions. It would kill him if he missed one.”

Paige bit her lower lip and let out a broke sob. She buried her face in Ben’s chest again and cried a river.

  “I came out to my parents at the same age. My mum was super chill about the whole thing. My uncle is married to a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot. And do you know what my dad said?” Ben chuckled even though he had tears in his eyes. “He said as long as they’re driving something proper, he couldn't care less. And at least I couldn’t get anyone pregnant this way.”

Ben blinked and tears trickled down his cheeks. Paige cuddled closer to him.

  “Paige, the world might be scary and there are _always_ assholes, but you will find people who love you for who you are. There are Lucy’s everywhere. But there are tons of Finn’s and Poe’s and Rose’s and Mitaka’s. Do you really believe they will look at you any different now? Do you think your dad will look at you any different?” Ben kissed the crown of Paige’s head.

  “It’s so scary,” she whispered.

  “I’m scared of the world as well. Yet, here I am against all odds living a mechanic’s dream of being surrounded by amazing cars. And I get to take care of three amazing kids who are lovely, well mannered and sweet,” Ben leaned his forehead against Paige’s, holding her head in his hands. “If it get’s too scary for you, you know where to find me.”

Paige sniffed and gave a weak smile. Ben kissed her forehead and sighed.

  “I’ll go tell dad then?” She asked quietly.

  “It’s your decision,” Ben said gently. “But I would do it now when you have enough courage.”

She nodded and inhaled.

  “Thank you so much Ben.”

 

A knock on the door interrupted Thanssion’s endless monologue on some issue Armitage had quite forgotten at that point. It had something to do with a hotel at a convention they had been before Vancouver.

  “Yes?” Armitage asked.

  “Hi dad,” Paige entered the room tentatively. “Uhm… Can I talk to you?”

  “Certainly my dear,” Armitage said gently.

  “Alone maybe?”

  “Thanisson, could you leave us alone?”

With a glare and some grumbling, Thanisson left the office and closed the door behind him. Paige swallowed loudly and inhaled shakily.

  “I… I wanted to tell you something,” she began. “It’s… I’m lesbian I think.”

Paige shot him a slightly terrified look and bit her lip. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Darling!” Armitage jumped to his feet and pulled his daughter into a hug. “Baby,” he whispered. “Don’t cry. Oh my god.”

He clung to her as she cried, hands fisted tight into his jacket. The feelings in his chest tumbled around, but sticking out from the mess was a cold dread that his own daughter was scared of opening up to him.

  “I’m glad you told me honey,” Armitage said and rubbed her back. “Please don’t cry. There’s nothing bad about that.”

  “Daddy,” she whimpered and cried harder.

They stood like that for a while longer until Paige had calmed down. Together they sat on the couch, Armitage still holding onto his daughter.

  “Why did you cry?” Armitage asked softly.

  “I was scared,” Paige whispered. “And… I didn’t know how you would react. Ben said that you would understand, but I was still worried…”

  “Did you speak with Ben about this?” Armitage brushed Paige’s hair back, trying not to feel annoyed about that new piece of information.

  “I… I actually only wanted to tell him that I was being bullied by Lucy May, but it sort of happened. He… He told me that you’d understand. Like with Poe and Finn. And he told me about his parent’s reaction to his coming out,” Paige looked at Armitage with big, red rimmed eyes. “I was still scared though.”

  “It’s okay to be scared,” Armitage said and smiled. “And I’m happy that you told Ben first. I don’t have any experience with coming outs really, never had the need for it.”

  “What?” Paige blinked at him.

  “Sweetheart, there is more to the LGBT community than lesbians and gays. I’m bisexual,” Armitage chuckled. “Regardless of your sexual orientation, I want you to be happy. I don’t care if the person at the breakfast table is male or female. As long as you love them, I am happy. And as long as they fit into our family, they will be welcome in our house.”

  “If I’d tell you I had a girlfriend then, would you let her stay over?” Paige asked cautiously.

  “Well, _do_ you have a girlfriend?” Armitage asked with a smile

  “Yeah…” Paige blushed. “It’s Kaydel. You know the blond girls with the two buns?”

  “Oh yes, she’s been over quite a few times,” Armitage replied. “I’d love to get to know her better.”

  “Thank you daddy!” Paige sobbed and threw her arms around Armitage’s neck.

  “Sweetheart,” Armitage pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “I’ll always support you.”

 

  “What’s this?” Finn asked and pointed at an opened shiny envelope on the kitchen table.

  “The invitation to Paige’s leavers ball. She’s going to finish Upper School this year,” Poe replied distractedly.

  “And then she’s done?” Finn asked and started putting the fresh kitchen towels away.

  “No then she’ll go to college and do her A-Levels. After that, maybe uni, but who knows,” Poe shrugged. “Did you buy fresh eggs?”

  “Sure,” Finn went over to the fridge. “I’ll never get the hang of the British School System,” he said and handed the eggs over to his husband

  “It is quite complicated,” Poe admitted. “But I love you even though you don’t understand it, he winked at Finn.

  “I don’t know what I just missed, but it sounded cheesy,” Ben said as he and Rose walked into the kitchen.

  “We were merely talking about Paige’s leavers ball,” Poe replied with a grin. “Does she already have a dress?”

  “Kaydel’s parents picked her up to go dress hunting together. They want to go in matching dresses,” Ben looked into the fridge. “Sorry Rose, there are no popsicles left.”

  “Can’t we go buy some?” Rose asked and tried to have a look into the fridge by jumping up and down. “Are you sure there are none left?”

  “Very sure sweetheart,” Ben replied and closed the door. “And I think we can go to the ice cream parlour if you want to.”

  “Brilliant idea,” Finn agreed with a grin.

  “We’re not taking you with us!” Ben laughed and turned around to the butler.

  “But Rose will bring me some ice cream, won’t she?” Finn knelt down beside the little girl.

  “We will bring ice cream for everyone!” Rose decided and put her arms around Finn’s neck and kissed his cheek.

Finn stuck his tongue out at Ben.  

  “Did you see what he just did?” Ben shouted and pointed at Finn.

  “I didn’t see anything,” Rose replied and grabbed Ben’s hand. “Also don’t point your naked fingers at dressed people. Dad always said that.”

As if on cue, Armitage strolled into the kitchen, hair dishelvised and shirt askew. He looked tired and held an empty mug in his hand. Everyone looked at him.

  “How was the phone conference?” Poe asked and held out a pastry.

  “Humph,” Armitage took the pastry from Poe’s fingers and shoved it into his mouth. “Terrible,” he said around the first mouthful. “Awful,” he muttered as he shoved the rest between his lips.

  “You mustn’t talk when you eat,” Rose whispered.

Armitage turned to look at his youngest daughter and swallowed down the pastry slowly. He knelt down after setting the mug into the sink.

  “I know baby,” he said and pulled her close. “But I was really hungry because I was sitting on my desk for the last four hours without a break. I missed lunch.”

While Armitage spoke he brushed the few stray locks of hair out of Rose’s face. He sighed and rubbed her cheek gently.

  “Why don’t you come along. Ben and I are driving to the ice cream parlour.”

Armitage chuckled.

  “That’s a wonderful idea sweetheart,” he said and kissed her cheek. “I’ll just change into something different. I’ll be with you in ten minutes.”

 

When Armitage hurried out the door, his eyes fell on Ben whirling around Rose. Her loud giggles filled the garden and Ben’s laughter carried almost as far.

  “If she vomits, you’re cleaning it up,” Armitage warned Ben.

  “Oh she won’t, eh?”

To Armitage’s utter horror, Ben tossed Rose into the air. He caught her safely, but Armitage still glared at him. When Ben put her down, Armitage had recovered enough to speak.

  “Don’t do that ever again please,” he said and took Rose’s hand.

  “Ben always catches me,” Rose assured her father and smiled sweetly.

  “Still, it makes me uncomfortable,” Armitage replied with a strained smile.

  “I won’t do it again,” Ben promised.

  “But it’s so much fun,” Rose protested.

  “We do lots of stuff  that is fun, don’t you agree?” Ben asked her and grinned. “Also there are enough things your father will never have to know about.”

  “Benjamin!” Armitage scolded, but laughed despite himself.

Ben grinned at him and for a moment it seemed like the world had stopped. Armitage’s heart was beating harder than ever and he was getting dizzy. He broke eye contact before he fainted right there and then.

  “Which car do you want to take?” Ben asked playfully.

  “The Maserati,” Armitage replied. “We just have to put the booster seat in.”

Maybe it was Armitage’s confused brain, but when he watched Ben and Rose head towards the garages, there was a warm feeling in his chest. A feeling he hadn’t had in a very long time.

 

The drive to the parlour was uneventful. Armitage had simply handed Ben the keys and helped Rose into her booster seat while Ben adjusted the mirrors and seat to suit him.

While the wind blew through Armitage’s face he leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes behind his sunglasses. There was nothing more relaxing than literally handing someone the steering wheel. He liked being in control, but he like to a hand it to someone else just as much.

To not be in control, even just for little bit, had something profoundly relaxing.

  “Daddy, we’re here!” Rose shrieked and started to fight her seat.

  “Relax, we’ll get you out soon,” Ben laughed and pulled into a parking spot.

After Rose was set free, Ben and Armitage followed the frantic girl at a much more civilised pace. Waiting in line only made Rose more impatient and when they finally made it to the front, she demanded to be lifted up. She wanted to be the one who ordered.

Ben humored her and picked her up. The girl behind the counter laughed at the display and was happy to indulge Rose. After Rose paid with the exact change needed, Ben put her down and grabbed the three tubs. The girl ran off to secure a table.

  “You spoil her,” Armitage said with a laugh as the two followed her.

  “Do I? I’m not the one who promised her an own pony if she scored a high grade on her math test,” Ben winked at Armitage.

  “I had to motivate her for that!” Armitage defended himself.

Ben laughed and shook his head. The two had reached Rose and sat down with her.

In record time, the two scoops in Rose’s tub were gone. Impatiently kicking her feet, Ben sighed and shot her a look. Armitage noticed that and looked at his daughter.

  “Hurry off,” he told her.

Without missing a beat, she jumped up and ran towards the playground.

  “Armitage, you are undermining my authority,” Ben scolded. “Kids should remain at the table until everyone is done.”

  “I can see that you’re grinning,” Armitage replied. “Also… You’re the nanny, the bad one. I’m their dad, I can get away with a little spoiling.”

Ben grunted and rolled his eyes.

  “Speaking of spoiling… I had an idea for Paige’s leavers ball,” Armitage licked his spoon. “Have I ever told you about that Mercedes I own?”

 

Ben’s fingers itched to tear the damn bowtie in half. He already hated ties but this was next level bullshit.

  “Bobbymyseh!” Ben shouted and threw the bowtie across the room.

  “Whoa, whoa,” Armitage said, appearing in the door frame. “Got a rage?”

Ben turned around to his boss, ready to shout at him. The way Armitage leaned against the door frame in his jeans and grey shirt distracted Ben from his current frustration.

  “This thing annoys me,” Ben said, feeling his anger vanish into thin air.

  “That’s normal. Have you ever tied one?” Armitage walked across the room and picked the bowtie up.

  “No,” Ben replied as he watched Armitage brush off non existent dirt of the black silk.

  “No wonder you are struggling. The only reason why I can tie one is because I used to wear them all the time,” Armitage smiled and wound the tie around Ben’s neck. “Suzie said I looked dashing with them. I had a whole collection of colourful bow ties. ”

  “You still have them?” Ben asked.

  “Yes,” Armitage said and pushed Ben’s chin up with two fingers. “I wouldn’t give them away even if I had to.”

Ben chuckled and glanced down on Armitage’s face. The other man was completely focused on his task and Ben had a moment to appreciate Armitage’s beauty.

With his angular face and his sharp cheekbones he certainly had a striking face. His pale eyes were framed by ginger lashes. Ben wanted to reach out and tilt Armitage’s face up to kiss him softly on his full lips. He didn’t.

And then the moment was over and Armitage stepped back to admire his work.

  “Fantastic,” Armitage smiled and looked at Ben.

  “Thank you,” Ben said, voice rough.

  “No problem,” Armitage brushed his hands over Ben’s suit. “Now go drive my daughter to her Leavers Ball and make sure that dump Lucy eats dirt.”

Ben laughed.

  “Your wish is my command,” he said and bowed his head.

 

Paige clutched Kaydel’s hand when she watched Ben exit the Mercedes. Both girls were giddy with excitement and giggled when Ben bowed to them.

  “Your ride is here,” Ben said with a grin.

  “Lucy will be so pissed,” Kaydel said delighted. “Come on Paige. Your dad lent us his sweet car for the evening and I can’t wait to sit in it.”

Letting herself be dragged, Paige gathered her dress and hurried down the steps. Ben opened the back door and helped the two girls into the car. After the long dresses were tucked away, Ben closed the car door.

  “Wait a minute.”

Ben turned around to Armitage walking down the stairs, dressed to the nines in a grey suit and a dark green tie.

  “You want to tag along?” Ben asked and reached for the door handle again.

  “Yes and no,” Armitage grinned. “I have two tickets for the theater. We…” He pointed at Ben. “have two tickets for the theater.”

  “What?” Ben laughed.  

  “Do you really think you could dress up like that and not go to the theatre. It’s Hamlet,” Armitage grinned. “And now get behind the wheel.”

Ben was still confused, but he followed suit, climbing behind the massive wheel of the Grosser. Armitage sat down beside him and Ben started the engine again.

The rumble of the V8 was tremendous.

They slowly and gently set off. Ben tried not to look over to Armitage often, but whenever he did, he found the other man looking very pleased with himself. Occasionally he caught him looking. Whenever that happened, a sharp jolt went through him.

Arriving fashionably late, Ben pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant the ball was held. For the drama of it all, he honked, which in this car was loud enough to wake the dead.

He grinned at Armitage before he straightened his jacket and got out. Slowly he made his way to the door, aware of the eyes resting on him and the massive car. Opening the door with much flourish he held out a hand to help Paige out.

Her black dress glittered in the bright light and she looked stunning. With a blinding smile she helped Kaydel out and kissed her cheek gently. After a nod in Ben’s direction, the two walked towards the restaurant, past the gathered crowd and into the restaurant.

Ben grinned and slammed the door shut. When he sat behind the wheel again, he turned to Armitage.

  “Do you know a parking garage where this thing fits into?”

  “Don’t worry about such trivial things,” Armitage replied with a grin. “Just park in front of the theatre.”

  “Come again?” Ben looked at him, laughing in disbelief.

  “I know the owner. He’s part of my vintage car club,” Armitage snorted. “Come on, you don’t want to be late.”

Still chuckling, Ben put in the first gear and drove off into the night.

* * *

[Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 5 ](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172856805899/chapter-5-the-range-of-sports-of-my-nanny-au)[Chapter 6](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173098317954/chapter-6-merc-600-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	7. il Lancia origliare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is masturbation, jealousy and slight dose of angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh darn...  
> It took me so fucking long to write this damn thing, I'm so sorry. I was doing really baldy last week, though thankfully the issue that has been stressing me out, has resolved now. Also, I was out motorbiking most of the time so...  
> there are now only three more chapters, including a self-indulgent little escapade with Matt and Techie.
> 
> Also: the title translates to 'The Lancia listening on doors' Or at least that's what pons.de told me...

Ben was busy washing the Mark X when the backdoor opened and Mitaka walked out. He quietly made his way over to Ben, making sure he wouldn’t make too much noise, but still enough that Ben knew he was coming.

  “Hi Mitaka,” Ben said and scrubbed over one headlamp.

  “Are you coming with us to Italy?” Mitaka asked.

  “Yes. Your father asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to tag along,” Ben put the sponge into the soapy water and smiled at Mitaka.

  “Because I just heard that Thanisson complained to dad that he wasn’t coming along this year. A-and I was worried you might change your mind…” Mitaka swallowed and blinked beginning tears away.

  “Darling, I would never pass up a chance to spend the holidays with you,” Ben replied. “You don’t want Thanisson to come along then?”

  “No,” Mitaka said and pulled a face. “He’s mean.”

Ben laughed and nodded.

  “He is. And I don’t think that your father would let him come along.”

  “He came along. Last year.”

Judging by Mitaka’s unhappy face, the holidays hadn’t been joyous. Ben knelt down and put a hand on Mitaka’s shoulder.

  “ _If_ Thanisson _does_ come along, I will make sure he is not mean to you,” Ben said and smiled at Mitaka.

  “Do you swear?”

  “I swear,” Ben promised.

With a stern expression Mitaka nodded. He reminded Ben so much of Armitage that second. Ben nodded back just as seriously and watched him turn around and walk back to the house.

 

To Ben’s surprise, the airport of Naples was clean and well-ordered. It was easy to navigate the corridors and actually arrive where you planned to. Rose was always running ahead, impatiently waiting for the adults and her two older siblings to catch up. Even Mitaka was uncharacteristically giddy and impatient.

  “It seems as if nothing is fast enough for them,” Ben muttered to Armitage after they had gone through the passport control and were on their way to collect their luggage.

  “Yeah, it’s always like that,” Armitage replied in a low voice. “Why don’t you three run ahead to look for our luggage,” he suggested louder.

Without another word, the kids were off. Armitage chuckled softly and Ben shook his head. The last thing he saw was Rose’s white dress disappear between two businessmen.

  “They can’t wait to see Lucretia again. She’s the woman we’re renting the house from and the kids love her,” Armitage said as he walked over to the ATM.

  “I’m really looking forward to meet her. I’ve only heard good things about her,” Ben replied with a smile.

  “Lucretia is an angel,” Armitage said and laughed as he stuck his card in the machine.

Ben hummed and watched Armitage select the amount he needed. Just before he was about to punch in his PIN, Armitage lifted a hand to cover Ben’s eyes. Laughing, Ben pulled the other’s hand down, but not fast enough.

  “As if I’d rob you,” Ben said with a snort.

  “You never know,” Armitage chuckled.

  “Mate I could just sell the mirror in my bedroom and I would never have to worry about money ever again,” Ben gently shoved Armitage.

  “Don’t shove me,” Armitage said and grabbed Ben’s hand to stop him.

Ben chuckled and gently struggled. In the meantime, the process had been complete and the ATM shoved a wad of cash at them. Ben was quicker than Armitage and danced out of Armitage’s reach.

The other man kept hold of Ben’s arm as he retrieved his card and started to fight Ben for the money. Instead of simply keeping it out of Armitage’s reach, Ben opted to pull his boss close.

  “Let go,” Armitage said and struggled against Ben’s arms.

  “Only if you promise  to buy me ice cream once we’re in Positano,” Ben whispered in Armitages ear.

  “You’re a giant man-child, aren’t you?” Armitage struggled some more before he relaxed in Ben’s arms. “ _Fine_ , now let me go!”

Ben released his boss with a chuckle and handed him the money. With a sniff and a dramatic turn Armitage walked off, but after a few steps, having stored away his card and cash, he turned around.

  “Aren’t you coming along?” Armitage asked.

  “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to come along.”

  “Ben don’t be ridiculous,” Armitage said and tilted his head.

With a smile, Ben walked over to his boss. Without hesitating, Armitage put his hand around Ben’s waist. After a few seconds, Ben got over his surprise and put his arm around Armitage’s shoulders. Ben’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest as they made their way to the luggage band. They didn’t break apart even after they had reached the kids, who had to their surprise already loaded their luggage on two trolleys.

Neither of the adults were allowed to push the trolleys. Mitaka and Rose claimed the lighter one while Paige pushed the heavier trolley. Armitage shook his head at his kids nonsense, but went along. When Armitage’s hand slipped a little lower on his hip, Ben almost fainted.

After they went through customs Armitage sadly broke away, having spotted Lucretia and her younger brother.

  “Ah, Signore Hux!” Lucretia called out.

She was about Armitage’s age, was impossibly tanned and had smile lines around her eyes. Her short, brown hair was windswept and she wore only a light green dress with sandals.

  “Lucretia!” Armitage greeted her. “Nice to see you, the kids were already nagging me when we’d finally come back here.”

They both embraced and Armitage let himself be kissed on both cheeks.

  “I missed them terribly as well!” Lucretia cried and threw her hands in the air. “It was a whole year,” she lamented and picked Rose up. “Without my darlings,” Lucretia kissed her cheek. The girl giggled and threw her hands around the woman’s neck. ”You have brought a new face as well!”

  “I’m the nanny, Ben,” he introduced himself, trying not to feel exposed under her wandering gaze. “The kids already told me so much about the house and you.”

  “A nanny!” Lucretia laughed. “You look like someone who likes to be outside. Last year it was that stuck up personal assistant who didn’t like the sun!”

  “Thanisson is still my PA,” Armitage said. “But you’re right, it was a bad decision to take him along. So I brought Ben this year in the hope he will like the sun better.”

To Ben’s surprise, Armitage put his arm around his waist. Lucretia followed the movement with her eyes and chuckled before she put Rose down.

  “Silvestro, would you be of use and take Paige’s trolley?” Lucretia said to her brother quite sharply.

Silvestro was a slender young man with curly, dark brown hair. He was good-looking, but the overall picture was somehow disrupted by his outfit. It looked like something out of ‘Golfer’s Weekly’ and dampened his charm.

With a grunt, the young man took the trolley and made for the exit. Lucretia took the other one and followed her brother while the kids tagged along. Armitage looked up at Ben, who was turning his phone on.

  “Ready?” Armitage asked.

  “Huh?” Ben looked at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you didn’t move,” Armitage said and pulled him along.

  “You were the one not moving,” Ben shot back. “I was merely busy with something else.”

Armitage rolled his eyes and sighed. Putting his arm back around Armitage’s shoulder, Ben felt his heart beat harder again.

 

  “Lucretia…” Armitage said and laughed. “You’ve outdone yourself this year.”

  “Signore Hux, you deserve only the best. Silvestro recently restored this beauty and I thought you’d be thrilled to drive it,” Lucretia handed Armitage the keys. “It’s a Lancia Berlina straight out ot 1972. And all of the kids fit in!”

  “Thank you,” Armitage gently kissed his landlady’s cheek. “I’m flattered.”

Silvestro looked a little grumpy as he put the bags into the small truck. Armitage was sure he hadn’t forgiven him for bringing Thanisson along last year. The kids were busy dragging Ben towards the car after he had called his mother to tell her that they had safely landed.  

  “Nice car,” Ben said and stopped by Armitage’s side.

  “I repaired it,” Silvestro said and walked over. “I’m Silvestro, Lucretia’s younger brother.”

  “I’m Ben, the nanny. The car is really well restored,” Ben beamed at Silvestro.

  “Thank you,” Silvestro flushed and looked at his hands. “It took me nine months.”

While the two men spoke about the car, Armitage stood to the side, feeling left out. Adding to that was a hot surge of jealousy. Armitage looked away and decided to help the kids into the back of the car.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben smiling brightly at Silvestro. Their gestures were intimate and Silvestro even went that far as to put his hand on Ben’s arm. Armitage huffed and looked at his kids. Rose was busy looking out of her window, Paige fiddled with her phone and Mitaka… Mitaka looked straight at Silvestro and Ben with angry eyes.

  “Mittens?” Armitage asked soflty. “What’s up?”

  “I don’t like Silvestro,” Mitaka said.

  “But you liked him last year,” Armitage objected.

  “That was last year,” Mitaka replied and looked away.

Armitage inhaled softly and extracted himself from the car. Ben was still deep in conversation.

  “Ben,” Armitage called over.

  “Yes, sorry,” Ben turned at him. “We will talk another time perhaps?”

  “Definitely!” Silvestro said with a bright smile.

With one last touch to Ben’s arm he was off and Armitage watched how Ben’s eyes followed Silvestro’s path towards the car. With an angry huff, Armitage sat down on the driver's seat and rammed the key into the ignition. After he slammed the car door close, Ben jerked and turned back.

Finally everyone was in the car. But the good mood was gone.

 

The house was on the cliff side just outside of a small town, overlooking the blue sea. They were so close to the water, that they could hear the waves splashing against the beach.

Once the kids were out of the car, they ran off, down a winding path towards the promise of salt water. Ben laughed and shook his head at them while he helped Silvestro carry the bags into the house. Armitage had been strangely quiet during the drive. Ben hadn’t really spared a thought on that.

Now that they had left the car though it became obvious that his boss was avoiding him. Armitage was off with Lucretia looking through the house. Silvestro tried to talk to Ben, but he evaded the other man, somehow feeling uncomfortable in his presence.

Instead he carried the kids’ bags into their respective rooms and dropped his own bag in the small guest bedroom.

  “I hope you don’t mind that we share a bathroom,” Armitage suddenly appeared in the doorway leading to the corridor.

  “Huh?” Ben turned around. “Not really. Unless you are a bathroom hogger,” he laughed.

  “There’s no one alive out there who could claim that,” Armitage replied with his usual snark.

Ben laughed, feeling glad that they were back to normal again.

  “The kids are back and are currently changing into their swimwear. I suggest you do the same,” Armitage grinned at him and went through the door leading into the bathroom.

Ben heard him closing his room door. He turned to look at his opened bag and smiled at himself. Two weeks in Italy with the kids and Armitage.

There was no other place on earth he rather wanted to be right now.

 

After Armitage had lathered himself with sunblock, he walked down the winding path to the beach. The sun was already nearing the horizon, but it was still hot. Once he had reached their private beach, Armitage found himself grinning. Lucretia had already put up two umbrellas.

Ben’s laughter was audible and when Armitage looked into the shallow water, he saw Ben whirling Mitaka around. Paige was out swimming while Rose sat in the waves and giggled loudly.

Armitage had seen Ben only in his white undershirts or skin tight t-shirts. Nothing had prepared him for the real thing. Ben’s body was powerful and broad. His chest was strong and his arms and legs as thick as young trees. Water glistened on his skin, making him look like a young god.

He had to avert his eyes, face flushing. Hastily he pulled his sunglasses down and laid under one of the umbrellas, forcing his mind into different directions. He closed his eyes and sighed softly.

Soon, the sound of laughter died down and that should have been a red flag. Instead of perking up as he should have, Armitage relaxed further into the soft towel. Suddenly, two strong arms picked him up and he was thrown over Ben’s shoulder.

  “You bastard!” Armitage yelled, for once forsaking his good manner. “Put me down you lumbering oaf!”

Ben only laughed and hitched him up higher, causing Armitage’s sunglasses to topple to the ground. Until now, Armitage had had his eyes squeezed shut. When he opened, he closed them right away.

Ben’s butt had no business looking that good in his surfer shorts.

Then Armitage was thrown into the ice cold salt water and momentarily forgot about his building arousal.

 

Sadly, the memories came back to him after dinner. Ben had cooked them some simple pasta and the kids had gone to bed surprisingly early. Now Armitage was alone with his thoughts and it wasn’t helping.

Slowly, he opened his trunk and pulled out a small black zipper purse. He stopped, contemplating his actions. Who would find out if he did that? The kids were on the other side of the house and Ben… was probably still on his walk. Armitage licked his lips and went into the bathroom.

Locking both doors, he opened the purse and pulled out the first item. Armitage gently rolled the dildo in his hand before he stepped into the shower, still clothed. It took him a few minutes to fix the suction cup to the wall in the right position.

Armitage gave the tip a gentle tap and watched the flesh coloured sex toy jiggle. Despite himself he chuckled and shook his head. This is how far he had come now. Laughing at how his favourite dildo jiggled.

As he undressed himself, he listened for any signs of Ben return to his room, but the house laid quiet and undisturbed. Without hurry, Armitage washed himself. Then he went to retrieve the small bottle of lube he had brought along and prepared himself quickly.

Once he was ready, he leaned forward and slipped onto the dildo. He quietly groaned and clung to his knees to steady himself. His skin was slippery with water, but Armitage held on. With a soft groan he started moving along the silicone shaft. It had been quite some time since he had indulged himself so.

Involuntarily, his thoughts wandered to Ben. Armitage couldn’t get the man out of his head. It fascinated him how strong Ben was. There was nothing sexier in Armitage’s mind than someone who could manhandle him. Slowly working the toy, Armitage breathing got harder.

  “Ben,” he whispered in a moment of weakness.

He imagined how Ben might take him. The shower was big enough for two people and Armitage wasn’t aversed to sex outside the bedroom. He wondered how Ben’s calloused hands would feel running over his damp skin. How that chest would heave with every breath he took.

Moaning loudly, Armitage reached for the walls to his side and held on as he went harder. Maybe Ben would be gentle with him, taking his time. Or maybe he was rough and wild, using Armitage to reach his orgasm.

One way or the other, Armitage would be glad for it.

 

Ben quietly entered the house through the unlocked backdoor. It was already very late and he was almost certain that everyone else was fast asleep. As he made his way past the kids’ bedrooms, he treated as lightly as possible on the worn wooden floors. Once he had closed his bedroom door, he sighed and relaxed a little.

Then he heard it.

A soft moan from the bathroom. Ben’s heart jumped into his throat. Maybe Armitage had fallen and hurt himself, unable to get up again. Rushing over to the other side of the room, he was about to knock the door in when he heard something else.

Armitage moaned his name.

It was quite, almost inaudible, but he actually moaned _his_ name.

Hand still raised Ben froze, staring at the door with wide eyes. His heart pounded, this time from excitement rather than worry. Slowly he licked his lips before stepping back, mind in turmoil.

Sure, he had been a bit too forward from time to time with Armitage, but… There was no way his boss would fall for him. Or even find him sexy. Ben rubbed a hand roughly over his face. The moaning continued and drove him crazy. He stared at the door handle, every fibre of his being screaming at him to open the door and take Armitage on the spot.

He was too confused and too cowardly for that.

Taking a step back, he inhaled deeply. The best would be to go to bed and put this whole thing behind himself. It would be the best for everyone.

 

The next morning, Ben woke bright and early, having forgotten to close the blinds the night before. With a groan he slipped out of bed and stretched.

Sleep hadn’t come easy last night, instead he had rolled around most of the time, thinking about the man a room over. A few times he had had the urge to simply get up and barge into Armitage’s room, demanding to speak to him.

He never acted on those impulses.

Now he sat on the edge of his bed, consumed by lust and groggy. The sun was shining brightly in the baby blue sky and Ben knew that today would be spend on the beach. He sighed and stood up. It would be best to take a shower and maybe drown himself in the process.

It would spare him a lot of trouble.

The bathroom looked innocent enough when he entered it. There was no trace of Armitage’s late night activities. Only when Ben entered the shower stall, he noticed a perfect circle on the white tiles about the height of his hips. He swallowed dryly, forcing his mind away from this discovery.

Deep down he wanted to reach out and touch that damn spot. Deep down he wanted to go and wake Armitage up to show him that no dildo could replace the real thing.

He did neither and turned on the water instead. As he washed himself, he hummed a quiet tune to himself.

Suddenly the wooden shower door was shoved open. Armitage, drowsy with sleep, stared at Ben. Ben stared back at him, water still running over his body. Armitage dropped his eyes down to Ben’s cock and flushed deep red. Ben instinctively covered himself.

  “Oh shit, goddamnit, I’m sorry Ben,” Armitage babbled and turned around, letting the shower door fall close.

  “It’s… Fine. You weren’t properly awake,” Ben replied and turned off the water. “Uhm…”

  “That’s so embarrassing,” Armitage groaned in frustration.

  “Don’t worry about it too much,” Ben replied, heart still beating hard.

Then he heard the door and knew he was alone again. Biting his lip he leaned his head against the tiles. That was just his luck.

 

Armitage couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The rest of the day, he stayed away from Ben, making sure that they were never left alone. Paige gave him a strange look, when he suddenly fled the living room when he noticed that the kids had left. Instead of speaking with Ben, Armitage asked the room a question, hoping Ben would reply as well.

It was all very ridiculous and Armitage knew it. Ben’s naked form was burnt into the back of his eyes.

He wasn’t a chiseled adonis with defined abs and trim waist. Ben’s body was solid and strong, but not made to show off. It was made to be practical.

Armitage forced his mind to return to the book he was just reading. It was impossible. Frustrated, he sat up and put it aside. The afternoon sun shone down on the small beach and Armitage spotted Paige and Ben on their way to the buoy bobbing far out on the water.

  “Daddy?” Rose asked, sitting up.

She had been lying underneath the other umbrella for some time now, listening to audiobooks. Armitage turned to his youngest and smiled.

  “What is it darling?” He asked gently.

  “Are you mad at Ben?” She whispered, looking very unhappy.

  “No, my darling. We just…” Armitage was at a loss.

  “Because you don’t really speak to him and I don’t like that. Then you could have brought Thanisson along if you want to be grumpy,” Rose sniffed.

  “It’s not Ben’s fault. I did something stupid,” Armitage said eventually. “And I brought Ben along because I like him. I promise to speak to him alright sweety?”

Armitage reached over to brush Rose’s salt crusted hair back. She nodded slowly.

  “Tonight,” she insisted.

  “Tonight,” Armitage promised.

Satisfied with her father’s answer, Rose put her headphones back on and laid back down. Armitage stayed seated, staring over the ocean, mind wandering.

He was glad that the kids were so at ease with Ben around. Even Mitaka had been able to open up to Ben, something the previous nanny Ann hadn’t managed. Ben was emotionally intelligent and always ready with some good piece of advice. Every issue, however minor was worthy of his attention.

Armitage was relieved to know that his kids were in such capable hands. It eased his mind when he was away on business.

But… Even Ben would leave at some point, never to return.

That thought hurt Armitage more than he was comfortable with. Ben was important to him, not only as his nanny, but also as a companion to pass the time. His spirits had risen since Ben moved in with them almost nine month ago.

His presence had even had effect on Poe and Finn, both more relaxed now that they didn’t have to worry about the kids any longer.

  “Pa, why are you looking so unhappy?” Mitaka whispered.

  “I’m just thinking darling,” Armitage replied and let Mitaka sit down by his side. “Where have you been?”

  “In the tree house,” Mitaka said and leaned against his father. “Don’t think sad thoughts.”

  “Sometimes you have to think sad thoughts,” Armitage replied and put his arm around Mitaka. “I will try to be in a better mood.”

  “Is it because of Ben?” Mitaka muttered, hugging his knees.

Cold dread filled Armitage’s lungs and he couldn’t speak for a moment, sorting his thoughts out.

  “I was just thinking that he will leave us eventually and that made me sad,” Armitage replied truthfully. There was not point in lying to Mitaka, he would notice. “Ben will either go back to his father’s shop or find another job.”

  “Ben won’t leave.”

  “I know you don’t want to…”

  “Ben _won’t_ leave,” Mitaka insisted and turned around to look at his father. “I just know it.”

Armitage inhaled slowly. Thankfully Ben and Paige returned from their swim and Armitage didn’t have to answer.

His mind although circled around his son’s last statement.

 

Ben swirled the last mouthful of wine around in his glass. Armitage sat across from him at the table, looking tired and slightly drunk.

  “Uhm…” Armitage leaned forward. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. I made a real mess of things this morning.”

  “Armitage,” Ben laughed. “These things happen. I once walked in on my best friend and my cousin having sex. _That_ was embarrassing.”

  “Really?” Armitage chuckled. “How long did it take until you spoke with each other again?”

  “Quite some time,” Ben admitted, glad that the weird tension from earlier was gone. “My mom told me I was being stupid about the whole thing. And proceeded to tell me about that one time she walked in on my uncle and his husband in great detail. Needless to say, it didn’t really help.”

  “Your mother is pretty forward, eh?” Armitage said with a grin.

  “You don’t know half of it,” Ben groaned and proceeded to tell Armitage stories of his childhood.

 

And maybe it was the alcohol or the warm summer evening or that, but that night both men felt invincible.

* * *

[Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 5](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172856805899/chapter-5-the-range-of-sports-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 6](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173098317954/chapter-6-merc-600-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 7](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173552060314/chapter-7-il-lancia-origliare-of-my-nanny-au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	8. A Vauxhall!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt and Techie are over for a visit and Armitage can't keep secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY OKAY??  
> I was gone for 6 days on a biking tour with my dad and then work was hell and and and and  
> I seriously didn't know when I found time to write any of this. It might be a bit of a mess, but I really wanted to give you a little bit more content...  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> Light Angst ahead!

  “Thierry Radarvanovìc!” Armitage barked. “Why did you bring this eyesore to my beautiful home?”

  “It’s just a Vauxhall!”

The man who leaned out of the passenger window was redheaded just like Armitage. He had the same face, but other than that, there were little similarities.

His hair reached over his shoulders and hung into his face. There was a massive grin on his face, distracting a little from his ugly, mustard coloured sweater.  

  “ _Exactly_ ,” Armitage replied and pulled a face.

  “Techie thought it was funny,” a tall, blond man said as he got out of the driver’s seat. “I told him you’d be pissed, but alas, he is a Hux.”

  “At least one of you has a brain. I’m glad to see you again Matt,” Armitage sighed and walked down the stairs to greet the two men.

  “Aren’t you glad to see me as well?” Techie asked, stepping out of the car.

Ben, who had followed Armitage down the stairs, stood awkwardly to the side while the two brothers hugged.

  “Techie, this is Ben,” Armitage put a hand on Ben’s back. “He’s the nanny I told you about.”

Techie grinned and shook Ben’s hand with surprising strength. With his bright blue eyes, Techie mustered Ben, reminding him a lot of Armitage. They had the same sharpness in their eyes.

  “I’m thrilled to meet you!”  Techie exclaimed excitedly. “This is Matt, my husband.”

  “Hi, nice to meet you,” Matt said, smiling nervously as Techie pulled him to his side by his arm.

  “Same here,” Ben replied with a nod. “How was your journey?”

  “It was fine, the train was a little delayed, but it was fine,” Techie replied. “But the _beautiful_ car made up for that inconvenience.”

  “I will write you out of my will,” Armitage said icily. “But Matt don’t worry, you will stay in it.”

  “Uhm… I don’t want to be a part of this,” Matt muttered and dislodged himself from his husband. “I’ll get the bags inside.”

With that he was gone, opening the trunk of the Vauxhall. Ben was about to offer his help when Techie spoke.

  “Are all nannies these days built like you?” Techie asked him.

  “Only the good ones,” Ben replied with a grin.

  “I like him Tidge, you gotta keep him,” Techie told his brother with a massive grin.

  “ _Tidge_?” Ben asked quietly, turning to Armitage. “Why haven’t I heard this nickname until now?”

  “Because…” Armitage arched his eyebrow and stepped into Ben’s personal space, glaring up at him. “I threatened Poe and Finn to fire them if they ever spoke a _word_ about it.” With that, Armitage sunk his nails into Ben’s back.

Trying not to show the twinge of pain, Ben smirked and glared back. The two had a short staring match until Armitage rolled his eyes and turned to Techie.  

  “Do you see what I have to put up with?” He lamented dramatically.

Techie chuckled and took his brother’s arm, leading him up the stairs. Armitage’s hand dropped from Ben’s back with a little hesitation. Involuntarily, Ben’s eyes followed Armitage as he walked by Techie’s side. Matt cleared his throat, jostling Ben out of his thoughts.

  “You got it bad man,” Matt muttered and patted him on the back.

  “Don’t I know it,” Ben sighed.

  “If you ever need advice on how to woo a Hux, here’s my number,” Matt pulled out his wallet and handed Ben a card.

  “You work in Med Tech?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah. You would be surprised how often MRT’s breakdown,” Matt shrugged and got two bags out of the trunk.

  “Honestly, I don’t really want to know,” Ben laughed. “Do you need help with those?” He pointed at the bags.

  “That would be lovely,” Matt replied with a smile.

  


  “I think we have a type,” Techie said one morning when he was nagging Armitage in his study.

  “ _We_?” Armitage looked at his brother, trying his best to answer a few emails.

He sat at his desk, trying his best to work despite his brother bothering him. Techie had simply laid down on the sofa when Armitage had been on the phone and unable to send his brother out. Now he had apparently taken a liking in lounging on the dark green leather.

  “Yes. I mean both Ben and Matt are big, handsome guys with uneven faces and awesome hair…” Techie smirked at his brother. “Both are essentially gentle giants, love to be outside and work with their hands… If ya know what I mean,” Techie winked at his brother.

  “Are you already drunk? It’s only ten in the morning,” Armitage sent the email and leaned back.

  “Tidge, why don’t we address the elephant in the room. You have a _massive_ crush on your nanny. And by massive I mean gigantic, obscenely large…” Techie threw his hands up. “Mate I could see it from _space_. And he likes you too…”

  “Let me stop you there Thierry…” Armitage lifted his hand to silence his brother. “I hold nothing more than purely _platonic_ feelings -let me speak Thierry!- platonic feelings for Ben. And that’s the end of it!”

  “Mate,” Techie rolled his eyes. “You haven’t seen yourself look at Ben. Or how he looks at you. Damn that boy is so smitten with you it’s terrible to watch!” Techie stood up and ruffled his hair in frustration. “You’re a match made in heaven, but both too daft to do something about it.”

  “Techie, I don’t think you can easily move on from ‘I have accidentally seen your dick’.”

  “What now?”

Techie stared at his brother in wide-eyed-disbelieve. Armitage cleared his throat nervously and licked his lips.

  “I may have walked in on him on the first morning in Italy while he showered and saw his… dick,” Armitage rubbed a hand over his face. “It was so terribly embarrassing… Even the kids noticed something was going on.”

Techie looked at him, blinking several times before rolling his eyes. He fell back onto the couch and let out a long suffering groan.

  “Ya’ll are just helpless.”

Armitage sighed. He closed his eyes and swallowed.

  “Even if Ben would be interested in me, which I highly doubt, what if the relationship doesn’t work out and I can’t let that happen. It will be already hard enough on the kids when Ben leaves,” Armitage said calmly.

  “You are making both of you unhappy,” Techie replied. “And your ‘What if it doesn’t work out’-bullshit is dump. Seriously, you thought the same about Suzie and it was the most amazing time of your life.”

  “Until she died,” Armitage said sharply, opening his eyes.

  “Yes, until she died. But damn Tidge, people _die_!” Techie stared at his brother. “We both have come to terms with that fact, so don’t you dare act as if that’s fucking news to you!”

Armitage stared back at him.

  “I’m scared it will happen again. I loved Suzie with all my heart, but I now don’t know if I can take another heartbreak like that,” Armitage said quietly. “And as I already said, Ben leaving will be already hard on the kids. If we split… I don’t want to imagine how it would feel for them. Losing a… For the lack of a better word _parent_ a second time,” he sighed. “No. I can’t do that.”

  “I get that,” Techie said. “I do, seriously. I was scared that Matt would turn out like Madeleine, but he didn’t. There were so many things I was scared of… In the end all those worries were for naught. He was and is everything she wasn’t. And I haven’t been that happy in ages,” he sighed. “I want you to be happy too. Where is the Armitage I know? Unafraid of the future, not giving a damn about what people thought?”

  “I have no idea where he went,” Armitage replied with a sigh. “If you find him, bring him to me would you?”

  “Mate,” Techie stood up and walked over to Armitage’s seat and put his arms around him. “I love you.”

  “Love you too,” Armitage replied and leaned against his brother.

  “More than you love Ben?”

Armitage groaned and rolled his eyes.

  


Matt was getting ready when Techie, who was still in bed, moved under the blanket. An arm appeared and stretched into his direction.

  “Babeee…” Techie grabbed Matt’s shirt and softly pulled at the fabric.

  “Sweetheart, what’s bothering you?” Matt turned around and looked at his husband laying on the bed. “Apart from me leaving the bed too early of course.”

  “Well…” Techie chuckled and sat up. “About Ben and Armitage.”

  “Oh Jesus Christ,” Matt muttered and took a seat beside Techie.

  “Armitage has finally admitted it all to me,” Techie grinned at Matt in victory.

  “How long have you bothered him?”

  “Very long,” Techie replied, grinning even more.

  “God you are such a nuisance darling,” Matt said proudly and kissed Techie’s forehead. “I love it.”

  “As long as I am not using my skills on you eh?” Techie preened.

  “Yes babe,” Matt chuckled.

  “We have to do something about this whole mess,” Techie said.

  “Do you really think so?” Matt sighed. “I mean I wouldn’t want someone to simply meddle in my love life, you see? And you have to remember your brother is not you. And Ben is a very private person I have found out.”

  “If we don’t do something they will simply keep on doing what they’ve done for the last months until the end of all time!” Techie groaned. “Armitage is too scared and Ben is too polite and they will circle each other for the next century.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic darling,” Matt said quietly. “They will find each other, just like we did. You wouldn’t have been happy about someone meddling in our relationship at the beginning. Your wounds too were still fresh.”

Techie sighed and closed his eyes. Matt gently brushed his hair out of his face.

  “Babe. They need to come to terms about their feelings in their own time. And that might take some more time. Give them that time and try to understand Armitage. How would you feel if you lost me?” Matt murmured.

With a shudder, Techie put his arms around Matt and clung to him.

  “You _are_ the rational one, aren’t you?”

Matt chuckled and kissed Techie’s forehead.

  “Yes babe.”

* * *

 

[Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 5](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172856805899/chapter-5-the-range-of-sports-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 6](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173098317954/chapter-6-merc-600-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 7](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173552060314/chapter-7-il-lancia-origliare-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 8](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/174092425594/moodboard-for-chapter-8-a-vauxhall-of-my-nanny)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	9. Going Topless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ben, I haven’t been able to celebrate your birthday in three years, let me have this!” Ben’s mother was lounging on one of the kitchen chairs, her dog by her feet and Rose in her arms.
> 
> Ben leaned on his chair across from Leia, wearing only a pair of cargo shorts with his arms full of grease. He was just finished downing a whole glass of water and set it down on the table a little too forcefully.
> 
> “Mom, I will not let you embarrass me in front of everyone,” Ben said and stood up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that took me SO long.  
> Super sorry about the delay, but it was crazy last week at work and this week is no better :/.

The sun was beating through Armitage’s office windows, heating up the room even more. Sweat was running down Armitage’s back and his glasses continuously slipped down his nose. He groaned and pulled it off, letting the steel frame clatter onto the polished wood of his desk.

  “God I hate summer,” he muttered as he wiped his brow, disgusted with himself and everyone. 

In hindsight it might have been a bad idea to buy leather chairs for his office. 

With a sigh Armitage stood up and wandered into the kitchen in search of tea. Even before he opened the door, he hear Leia’s loud voice complaining about something.

  “Ben, I haven’t been able to celebrate your birthday in three years, let me have this!” Ben’s mother was lounging on one of the kitchen chairs, her dog by her feet and Rose in her arms. 

Ben leaned on his chair across from Leia, wearing only a pair of cargo shorts with his arms full of grease. He was just finished downing a whole glass of water and set it down on the table a little too forcefully. 

  “Mom, I will not let you embarrass me in front of everyone,” Ben said and stood up. 

From his spot by the door, Armitage watched Ben leave through the back entrance. Armitage assumed he was headed for the garages. 

  “Stop ogling my son.” 

Leia’s sharp words jostled Armitage out of his thoughts and he flushed at being caught. Rey, who was leaning against the counter next to Poe giggled loudly. 

  “It’s not something bad,” she said and grinned. “We just want the two of you to get a move on, you’ve been pinning for ages now.” 

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Armitage said as he made his way over to the kettle. 

  “Hux, I don’t really think you’re serious right now,” Poe said as he slapped Rey’s hand off his freshly cut veggies. “You can’t exactly fool us.” 

  “Remember you are still my employee,” Armitage said as he boiled water and hung a fresh tea bag into his mug.

  “Not me,” Leia said, brushing Rose’s hair. “Also it’s not like I would give a f-” 

  “Leia! Not in front of my daughter!” Armitage shouted, jerking around to glare at the older woman. 

Rose for her part looked excitedly at Leia. Armitage bit his lips as to not swear himself. 

  “ _ Feh _ !” Leia lifted both her hands in defeat. “No need to get so nasty.” 

  “Rose would you be a dear and leave us?” Armitage asked his youngest with a strained smile. 

  “Fine!” Rose grumbled and hopped off Leia’s lap, sending her father an angry glare that almost rivaled his own. 

After the door had closed behind her, Armitage leaned against the counter and pressed his fingers to his temple. He let out a long suffering sigh.

  “Leia, I don’t ask much of you. One, don’t swear in front of my kids, or at least do it in yiddish. Two, don’t speak about Ben and me in front of my kids. And three, don’t try to force Ben and me into a relationship,” Armitage sighed again. “I  _ beg _ you.” 

  “Both of you are acting like right  _ khamers _ and I can’t stand to watch it!” Leia shook her head. “You are making yourselves incredibly miserable.”  _ donkeys _

  “Well, that’s none of your business,” Armitage shot back.

  “I am  _ making _ it my business,” Leia said with resolution. 

  “Christ Almighty,” Armitage groaned as he poured hot water into his mug. 

  “I think we should throw Ben a birthday party!” Poe suddenly said. 

Everyone turned around to look at him. Poe, knife in one hand and a pepper in the other, smiled nervously. 

  “I thought it would be best to change the subject?” He offered and swallowed. 

  “Good subject!” Leia exclaimed and slammed her hand on the table. 

  “ _ Bad _ subject,” Armitage held against. “Ben said it’s not what he wants and I don’t think he would be happy if we forced a party on him.”

  “I think it’s a good idea as well!” Rey slapped Armitage on the back. 

It felt like being hit by a steam train. As he rubbed his shoulder, he turned to Poe. The cook was surprisingly quiet. Armitage watched him furiously chop vegetables before he spoke to him. 

  “What about you Poe, what do you think?” 

  “Uhm… Me Sir?” Poe gave him a beaming smile. “I don’t think I want to get involved in this.” 

Armitage closed his eyes. Everyone, even his own employees, were against him. He just wanted to go and take a five year nap to recover from all of this stress and annoyance. When he opened his eyes, Poe smiled apologetically at him. 

  “Ben’s birthday is in two weeks! We should start planning!” Leia stood up and smirked at Armitage.

In this moment Armitage felt the horrible urge to cry like a child. 

Instead he grabbed his mug and took a sip. The tea was bitter. Just like his life. 

  
  


Armitage  _ hated _ London traffic. It was messy, it was complicated and it was infuriating. Everyone did what they wanted and the last thing Armitage needed today was an accident. 

  “ _ Mallacht mo chait ort _ .” Armitage snapped and was tempted to honk when a small Peugeot squeezed in between him and the car in front.  _ My cat’s curse upon you _

  “Yes to whatever you just said!” Leia shifted in the passenger seat. 

  “That was a Gaelic curse,” Armitage replied and smirked at her. 

  “I didn’t know you spoke Gaelic.” 

  “My mother taught me and Thierry,” Armitage barely avoided getting hit by a doppeldecker and turned on his blinker. “It very useful for swearing in front of your kids.” 

Leia laughed loudly and snorted. 

  “Yeah, it was the same for me with Yiddish until Ben and Rey learned it from Luke. I’ve never really forgiven him for that…” Leia sighed. 

  “Ben told me about that. Just out of curiosity: Jewish faiths allows same sex marriages?” 

  “Depends on who you’re asking,” Leia said with a shrug. “Some are more conservative and are completely against it, others are fine with it. It’s not like the Catholic church where one dude says it’s allowed or not.” 

A few seconds of silence followed, only interrupted by the sounds of Leia’s phone as she played one of her many mobile games. 

  “Ah,” Armitage nodded.

  “Are you planning your and Ben’s wedding?” Leia gently shoved him, taking her eyes off the screen for once. 

Armitage let out a long suffering sigh and opted to remain silent. 

 

   “Sir, may I be of assistance?” A young woman walked up to Armitage as he stood in the middle of the floor at Harrods, utterly annoyed by the mass of tourists around him. 

Armitage inhaled and smiled at her. She visibly brightened and her smiled turned from nice to sincere. 

  “Yes, I do believe so,” Armitage replied. “I have a good friend who likes cars and bikes. He’s not really a man of fashion, but I need something for his birthday.” 

  “Do you have anything specific in mind?” She asked. 

  “How about a nice ring for his finger?” Leia suddenly spoke up as she browsed the toy display to Armitage’s right. 

  “Leia…” Armitage threatened and turned around to level a glare at her. . 

The young woman stifled a smile and looked down on her feet. 

  “Just saying…” She smirked at Armitage. 

  “Just go and bother someone else,” he told her with a long suffering sigh. 

  “Yeah, yeah…” Leia shook her head as she marched off, her long colourful scarves glittering in the artificial light.

Gathering himself, Armitage turned back at the young woman. She was desperately trying to hide a smirk.  

  “I’m sorry about this Miss…” 

  “Anderson, Sir,” she replied with a smile. 

  “To be honest Miss Anderson I have never been good at finding gifts for people I care about…” Armitage sighed. 

  “Did you have anything in mind? Something practical? Or rather something decorative?” Miss Anderson asked him. 

  “Something practical I guess,” Armitage licked his lips in thought. “It’s just so hard to find something for him, because he always seems happy with how things are you know?” 

Miss Anderson smiled and nodded. Armitage knew he was not making her life easier by his indecisiveness. Nervously, he reached to fix the right cuff of his shirt when his fingers brushed against his watch. 

For a short second, he halted his movement. Then he had an idea. 

  “What kind of classic watches do you carry?” He asked with a broad grin.

Miss Anderson smiled again and motioned Armitage to follow her. 

  “This way Sir.”

As they made their way to the maze that was Harrods interior design, Armitage was deep in thought. He wanted Ben’s present to be perfect, something that would remind Ben of him. Though finding that perfect present might prove to be a bigger challenge than Armitage had expected. 

Ben like simple things that  _ worked _ but he also enjoyed a bit of tinkering. In that aspect he was a lot like Armitage himself. Now Armitage wished that he would have invited Leia to come along. Though that could’ve also backfired and enden in an even bigger disaster. 

Armitage sighed. Miss Anderson stopped when they arrived in the jewelry department and stepped behind a counter

  “Well, what did you have in mind?” She asked.

   “I want something with good quality, preferably an Austrian or Swiss watch. Automatic would be nice, with a leather band maybe?” 

Miss Anderson nodded along, listening intently. She typed a few commands into her computer and turned the screen.  

  “Alright. What do you think about those two?”

  
  


Leia, one of her scarves wrapped around her head, eyed Armitage as he drove her back home. With the top down, the wind rushed over their heads and Armitage looked as if he enjoyed himself immensely. 

  “When will you finally tell me what you bought my son?” Leia asked him.

  “You will seen on his birthday. I entrust you and Rey with the planning by the way. There are a whole lot of things I have to take care of at work,” Armitage replied to her. 

Leia pulled a face, but let the issue slide. She would find out sooner rather than later. For the moment it would be best to simply let the whole thing run its course.

Afterall, Ben and Armitage really were too dumb to make a move and before too long Leia would have them safely together.

The rest of the ride was spent in companionable silence. Leia eventually closed her eyes, exhausted by the events of the past few days. She started to notice that she grew older and even though she didn’t want to admit it, a few thing did become difficult for her sometimes. 

She woke from her light nap when they pulled into the driveway of Han’s shop. With a stifled yawn Leia stretched her limbs and sighed. 

  “Thank you for this wonderful day Armitage!” She said and smiled at him.  

  “The pleasure was all mine,” he replied with a grin. “Contact me when you have solid plan for Ben’s birthday party.” 

  “I will Armitage,” Leia assured him. “See you.” 

Grabbing her bags, she stepped out of the car. After the door was shut behind her, Armitage started up the engine. 

  “Give Han and Rey my best!” Armitage waved at her as he pulled out of the driveway. 

  “I will!” 

Leia watched the car vanish before she sighed and turned towards the house. Even before she reached the door, Rey opened it, leaning against the doorframe with a smile. 

  “How was mother-son-in-law-shopping?” Rey asked with a grin. 

  “Quite fun,” Leia replied and handed her bags to Rey. “I hope you two managed to put dinner on the table.” 

  “I called Luke to bring some food over,” Rey said. “Bodhi cooked his magnificent Ashkenazi and we wanted some.” 

Leia looked her niece with a long suffering sigh as she pulled her shoes off and stored them away. 

  “What, I don’t need to cook, I have Phasma,” Rey winked at Leia. “She’s over as well.” 

  “So we have a full house then,” Leia said. 

  “Yes,” Rey said as the two women walked into the kitchen. “Also we waited for you to come home before we started eating.” 

  “Thank you,” Leia said and kissed Rey’s cheek. “Let me just wash my hands real quick.” 

  “Do you know what Armitage bough Ben?” Rey asked her aunt as she waited for her. 

  “No,” Leia said as she scrubbed her hands in the sink. “But I know it’s some kind of jewelry.” 

  “A _ ring _ ?” Rey squeaked. 

  “I don’t think so. But,” Leia dried her hands in the kitchen towel with a smirk. “He might have need for that soon. Because I fully intend on getting them together at the party.”

  “Good thing the whole family is over tonight,” Rey grinned at Leia.

* * *

[ Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 5](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172856805899/chapter-5-the-range-of-sports-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 6](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173098317954/chapter-6-merc-600-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 7](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173552060314/chapter-7-il-lancia-origliare-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 8](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/174092425594/moodboard-for-chapter-8-a-vauxhall-of-my-nanny)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


	10. Dodge-ing the Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's fairy lights, lots of tears and kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for taking so long. Things happened and I had a few test I had to study for. I always wrote bits and bobs so this is a bit of a weird chapter, but I hope it makes sense to you. 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm happy to say that this is over now. There might be a two or three little additions, namely Rey's and Phasma's wedding. When I will write them/post them is not certain so far. There will be new content though. I have a few WIPs I intend on posting/finishing (a Teacher/Single Dad AU, a How To series with out dysfunctional idiots and a Canon os).  
> ALSO: I am participating in the KBB this year again! So there is going to be a new awesome AU soon for you to read!

  “Don’t you think we overdid it a little bit?” Rey asked as she looked at the garden.

  “No, why would you ask such a thing?” Leia looked at her niece. “ _I_ think it’s pretty.”

  “It just… There is such a thing a too many fairy lights. And lanterns.”

  “Don’t _plotz_ ,” Leia said with a huff. “It’s perfect. And now I have to organise the buffet table.”

With a sigh Rey watched Leia hurry off into the house. Looking down on her sleeping dog, Rey pulled a face.

  “What do you think Chewie?” She knelt down. “Don’t you think it’s too much?”

Rubbing her corgis belly, Rey looked back at the garden. It was pretty, she had to admit it. And it would look even more beautiful at night, with the candle’s lit and the trees ablaze with the fairy lights.

Still, there was that building dread in her belly. She knew Ben since they were kids and he had never liked lavish parties and extravaganza. Suddenly, this whole idea felt dump and she wished that Armitage would have never even offered to host Ben’s birthday party.

  “Rey,” Bodhi walked up the stone steps. “Are you alright?”

  “ _Tate_ , I don’t think that Ben will like this.” _Father_

  “I see,” Bodhi sat down across from her and took her free hand. “I thought so too. Until Luke told me that Ben was very lonely in the first few months after he moved to America. He moved away just before his birthday and it was very hard for him. Ben might say he doesn’t like that many people around, but he needs us.

“Your father never told you, but he was on the phone with Ben very often,” Bodhi’s rough fingers drew patterns on Rey’s hands. “Ben missed all of us very much. But he kept going because he didn’t want to disappoint Leia and Han. And even though all of us know that is impossible, for Ben that is a very real fear. Leia and Han would never be disappointed by Ben.

“Sadly, he can’t see that,” Bodhi sighed and stopped drawing on Rey’s hand. “He’s not good at seeing other people’s love.”

  “Just like he can’t see that Armitage loves him,” Rey muttered.

  “Yes,” Bodhi grinned at Rey. “What I am trying to say is this: Leia has always shown her appreciation and love through lavish gestures and with a lot of pomp. Han is the direct opposite of that, he is much more similar to Ben than either of them wants to admit. That’s why Leia’s present for Ben is time spent with his loved ones and Han’s present is a biking trip through the Scottish Highlands.

“Both bring joy to Ben’s heart, yet they couldn’t be further opposed. This will make Ben happy because he is just as much Leia’s son as he is Han’s,” Bodhi brought Rey’s hand up to his lips and kissed her thumb.

For a few minutes the only sound is the clattering of dishes in the dining room. Rey looked at her father, turning what he said over and over in her head.

  “Was Ben really afraid he would disappoint Han and Leia?”

  “Yes,” Bodhi nodded. “I spoke with him about that a few times. He was quite serious.”

  “That’s so stupid,” Rey said, trying her very best not to cry. “They _love_ him.”

  “They do very much. Ben loves them dearly as well,” Bodhi sighed. “Human nature is hard to understand. Your heart tells you one thing, your mind another. This duality is sometimes stronger than reason. Loneliness puts things out of perspective.”

  “ _Tate_ ,” Rey moved around Chewie to sit in her father lap.

  “ _Libling_ , do not cry. Tears spilled for the past only make the ground sour,” Bodhi whispered. _Darling_

  “If I had known that, I would have made him come back,” Rey sobbed, clutching at Bodhi’s neck. “I would have begged him to come back.”

  “It was Ben’s choice. Luke offered very often to help Ben find a place to work if he returned sooner. I think Ben wanted to prove himself. _Libling_ , stop crying,” Bodhi kissed her forehead. “Ben is much happier now. Tonight you shan’t cry.”

  “It just hurts to know that he suffered this much,” Rey muttered.

  “ _Libling_ , I know it’s hard. It happened and the best we can do is move on. There are so many beautiful things to celebrate,” Bodhi kissed Rey’s forehead. “Like today. Ben will be here soon and you will see, he will be delighted!”

  


  “Dad, what is mum planning?” Ben asked Han as the two climbed into Han’s ancient Ford Focus.

  “I promised not to tell anything,” Han replied.

  “Please,” Ben begged and made puppy eyes at his father.

  “Son, you are a grown man, stop that. Also that didn’t work in the past what makes you think that it will work now?”

  “Ya’ll don’t love me,” Ben muttered.

With a long suffering sigh, Han turned the key and pulled out of the parking lot. The two spent the next few minutes in silence until Ben spoke again.

  “Dad?”

  “Mh?”

  “Thank you so much for this trip. It was great fun,” Ben reached over to take Han’s left hand off the wheel.

  “It was my pleasure son,” Han replied and squeezed Ben’s fingers. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”

  “We haven’t spent time together in such a long while.”

  “Yeah… You were busy with the kids and I was always in the shop,” Han sighed and disentangled their hands to change gear. “We gotta change that.”

  “Yeah, we definitely have to,” Ben said. “How about next year we go into the Rocky’s?”

Han threw his head back and laughed.

  “Sounds ludicrous enough for us. Let’s just not tell Leia about that, or at least not for a while,” Han grinned.

  “Love you dad.”

  “I love you too son,” Han replied and Ben was certain his father’s voice was a bit choked up.

  


  “DAD!” Paige jumped Armitage when he walked into the garden. “This was the greatest idea you’ve ever had!”

  “Really?” Armitage asked, struggling to find his footing, now that his daughter was attached to his body.

  “Confetti!” Rose screeched and threw half a bucket of glitter confetti at them.

  “Rose, do not throw choking hazards at life people’s faces!” Luke called from where he and Leia set up the drinks table.

Armitage sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe this had been a bad idea. It was too late to call the whole thing off anyway.

  “He’s coming!” Rey shouted, running out of the dining room onto the terrace. “Everyone hurry!”

  “Oh Jesus,” Armitage said as the kids stormed off, following Rey back inside to ambush Ben just as he entered the house.

Only then Armitage noticed Mitaka, sitting in the grass under one of the fairy light-adorned trees, cuddling with Chewie. Next to him, Poe was laying in the grass, speaking to Mitaka in a hushed voice. Slowly, Armitage approached.

  “What would you say if Finn and I got us a dog like Chewie?” Finn just said. “Wouldn't that be fun?”

  “Yes. Chewie is very cute.”

  “Do you feel any better?” Poe asked softly and sat up.

  “Yes. I still don’t want to speak to anyone.”

  “That’s fine,” Poe said, looking up to smile at Armitage.

  “Hey you two. Are you hiding from the party guests?” Armitage asked and knelt down beside Mitaka.

  “Yes.”

  “Ben is coming any second now, do you want to go and greet him with me or do you want to stay here with Chewie and Poe?” Armitage asked Mitaka.

  “I want to stay here with Chewie and Poe,” Mitaka said and looked up. “Can you bring Ben here?”

  “I can,” Armitage replied and kissed his son’s forehead gently. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

With a smile in Poe’s direction, Armitage stood up and walked back to the terrace, pushing the fairy lights out of his path. He had to admit, the aesthetic of them was pleasing, just not the idea on taking approximately 1,000 feet worth of lights out of the ancient oak trees unsettled him.

Armitage sighed. He had given his okay to all this and let Leia and Rey go crazy with the planning. Just the thought that Ben wouldn’t like any of this was twisting in his stomach like a snake.

Steeling himself for the worst, he entered the dining room, only the be met with a crying Ben, cuddling into his mother’s arms,

  “It seems like I missed a lot,” Armitage said.

  “Yeah,” Finn, who was standing nearby smiled.

Armitage smiled back, touched by the scene of Ben now hugging his uncle and husband as his father stood awkwardly besides a grinning Leia. Slowly, Armitage made his way across the room.

Relief flooded him and made his steps lighter. Leia’s I-told-you-so-look was pointedly ignored and when Ben noticed Armitage, he released Bodhi from his bear hug and pulled Armitage into one.

  “Thank you for sponsoring this all,” Ben whispered into Armitage’s ear.

  “Really, it’s my pleasure,” Armitage replied, barely able to get the words out. Feeling a little dizzy, he tapped on Ben’s back. “Could you… I can’t really breathe.”

  “God sorry,” Ben loosened his hold on Armitage.

  “Happy Birthday Ben!” Armitage muttered, feeling his heart soar at being so close to Ben.

  “Thank you so much,” Ben said and released Armitage slowly.

There were still tears on his face, but he looked so overjoyed it hurt. Armitage smiled back at him and struggled hard with his overflowing emotions.

  “It’s my pleasure,” Armitage forced out.

Ben beamed at him.

  “Where’s Mitaka, I haven’t seen him so far.”

  “Outside with Poe. He asked me to fetch you,” Armitage replied. “All these people are a little much for him.”

  “Understandable,” Ben agreed.

Just the two of them headed out onto the terrace. When Ben saw the garden and all the fairy lights hanging from the trees he inhaled deeply, mouth hanging open.

  “Your mother’s idea,” Armitage said quietly. “I thought it was a little much, but she insisted.”

  “I love it,” Ben whispered and suddenly his fingers brushed the back of Armitage’s hand.

  “Mitaka is over there,” Armitage said and hurriedly headed into the direction of his son.

He felt Ben following him. The nervous energy coursing through his veins made him itchy and jittery. There was nothing he wanted more than to hide in his office and spend the evening with a book.

Another part of him wanted to turn around just now and kiss Ben in the midst of the hanging fairy lights. The coward in him told him that Ben held no feelings for him. And despite the uncomfortable feeling in his gut, he listened to him.

When Ben and Armitage reached Poe and Mitaka, the boy stood up. Slowly, Ben knelt down before the youngest Hux and looked at him expectantly.

Brushing over his pants and shirt, Mitaka looked at his father with a nervous smile. Then he turned to Ben and inhaled deeply.

  “I wish you all the best for your birthday Ben,” Mitaka said seriously before hugging Ben’s neck.

  “Thank you Mitaka,” Ben replied just as serious. “I am happy that I can celebrate with you and your family.”

Armitage’s heart gave a painful throb in his chest when he saw how Ben held Mitaka to his chest. Hoe gentle he was and how careful not to squeeze the child too tightly.

He didn’t notice Poe stifling an exasperated sigh or his annoyed frown.

  


The whirlwind of guests, food and present engulfed Ben for the rest of the evening, well into the night hours.

He was delighted by how meticulously his mother and cousin had planned the whole event. There was nothing the two hadn’t thought of, none of Ben’s favourite deserts were missing from the buffet and all of old school friends were invited.

Sadly, all that meant that Ben didn’t see much of Armitage. They always had a few seconds with each other before there was someone or something else that required either their attention.

It was hopeless.

Only when the guests had left and all the kids were in bed and sleeping, Ben found Armitage outside, under the fairy light trees.

  “Armitage,” Ben said quietly.

  “Ah, you’re not yet in bed?” Armitage asked after he turned around with a soft smile on his lips.

  “No, but the kids finally are,” Ben laughed. “We probably shouldn’t wake them early tomorrow.”

Armitage hummed in agreement. Ben was momentarily transfixed by how handsome he looked, surrounded by the small lights. The wind gently played with the strings and the background started to glitter.

  “Thank you again for paying for this madness,” Ben said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.  “This was the best birthday I had in a long time.”

  “My pleasure,” Armitage replied, with a soft smile. “I… Uhm… I didn’t know when I should give you your present. It’s still where I left it earlier. I’ll get it.”

With that, Armitage walked back to the house, brushing the fairy lights aside as he went. Ben’s heart yearned to run after him and pull him close to tell him the only present he needed was a kiss. Instead, he stood rooted on the spot, watching Armitage walk up the stairs of the terrace.

When he returned, Ben found himself staring at Armitage as he moved between the lights towards him. Only when Armitage stopped in front of him, Ben noticed the small bag in his hand.

  “I… I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I hope this is to your taste.”

  “Armitage, that wasn’t necessary! You already paid for the whole party and gave your house and garden… This is too much. I cannot accept it,” Ben said firmly, heart swelling with how generous Armitage was.

  “No, don’t be ridiculous,” Armitage held against. “I want you to have something to remember me… us by.”

It might have been a trick of light, but Armitage’s mouth twitched as he corrected himself. Now, Armitage avoided Ben’s eyes, pushing the bag even further into Ben’s personal space.

  “Thank you,” Ben whispered and took it, not without brushing his hand over Armitage’s.

Gently pulling a small box out of the bag, Ben’s heart hammered in his chest. Whatever Armitage picked for him, it would be perfect and Ben knew he would cherish it forever.

The small, black box opened with a sharp snap, revealing the most beautiful watch Ben had ever seen. The sleek, black leather band looked expensive and the slightly convex surface of the glass caught the many lights around them, reflecting the all over the place.

  “Armitage…”

  “It’s a Junghans Automatic watch. I thought the classic design would be to your liking.”

  “It’s perfect.”

Ben finally looked up into the hopeful eyes of Armitage. Time seemed to slow as Ben stared into Armitage’s face. There was so much love in his eyes, Ben thought he was about to go into cardiac arrest, so hard was his heart beating his chest.

He lowered the box into the back carefully and reached out to Armitage’s face. Almost in trance, Armitage watched the movement, eyes flitting back to Ben’s face once his fingers threaded through Armitage’s hair.

  “Armitage, I love you.”

Armitage’s gasp was swallowed by Ben’s lips as they _finally_ descended on Armitage’s.

Hands wrapped around Ben’s as he deepened the kiss, first timidly, then they grabbed his shirt and clung to it. Ben sighed and dropped the bag to wind his other arm around Armitage’s waist. As the two kissed, the wind picked up slightly and the fairy lights began to dance in the breeze.

It was perfect.

  “Ben,” Armitage whispered after they parted. “I love you too,” he chuckled. “Jesus that took me long.”

  “Me too, me too,” Ben replied with a giggle.

They remained like that, wrapped around each other, for a few minutes. Ben felt Armitage’s heart race in his chest, very much like his own. Resting his forehead against Ben’s chest, Armitage shook his head with a chuckle. Ben couldn’t help but smile as he leaned his head against Armitage’s.

  “We’re morons.”

  “Yeah,” Ben said with a big grin and tilted Armitage’s face up.

For a few seconds they stared into each other’s eyes until Ben leaned down to peck Armitage’s lips gently. When he broke away, Armitage kept his eyes closed.

  “We cannot let your mother know that it was her party that got us together.”

  “Yeah,” Ben asked and brushed Armitage’s hair back.

He was addicted to touching Armitage. It was intoxicating to feel the soft skin and silky hair beneath his fingers.

  “She will never let us hear the end of it.”

  “You will be stuck with her one way or another, cuz’ I’ll never let you go.”

  “Really?”

  “Really,” Ben leaned down to kiss Armitage again. “I will never leave you or the kids by my own free will.”

Armitage smiled, though there was pain in his expression.

  “I’m just… a little scared you know,” Armitage said quietly.

  “Everything so far worked out. We will get this thing right as well,” Ben wrapped his arms around Armitage again.

Before Armitage could reply, the clap of thunder interrupted them and suddenly, the skies opened. Without missing a beat, Ben grabbed Armitage’s hand and the paper bag from the ground and ran towards the house. The icy rain beat down on the two men as they stumbled into one of the garages.

  “Holy shit,” Ben said and laughed. “That’s a way to end the evening.”

  “Yeah,” Armitage chuckled and brushed his wet hair back, behind his ears.

  “Your hair is so dark when it’s wet,” Ben mused and reached over.

  “That’s what hair does when wet, dummy,” Armitage replied with a grin.

  “I never got to fully appreciate it.”

Ben gently turned Armitage’s face up and kissed him softly. Armitage let him and even opened his mouth when Ben’s tongue prodded at his lips. Slowly, Ben pushed Armitage backwards, against the car parked in the garage. Almost smacking his knees against the cold metal, Ben halted his assault on Armitage.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a long time until Armitage suddenly shuddered from the cold.

  “Jesus, you’re freezing,” Ben said and jerked back, heading for the door.

  “No, it’s still raining Ben. There’s a blanket in the trunk. We should be alright if we sit into the back of the car,” Armitage slipped off the bonnet and walked around the Dodge.

  “You sure?”

  “I am not stupid enough to let the opportunity to huddle in the back of a car with you slip right out of my damn fingers,” Armitage replied as he pulled the dark green fleece blanket out of the trunk.

  “Again with the teasing.”

  “If you are lucky there might be even some more than just teasing.”

  


Armitage’s heart hammered in his chest as he and Ben slipped into the backseat of the Dodge. He had tried to seem nonchalant, but this whole endeavour had made him quite aware of the fact where this whole thing could lead.

He was still struggling to process the fact that Ben liked him, let alone that they were indeed curled up under a slightly scratchy fleece blanket in the back of his 1970 Dodge Charger, whilst being only in their underwear.

  “Armitage, I can hear your mental struggling,” Ben whispered softly. “Where’s the suave dude from earlier?”

  “I’m afraid, I can’t tell you,” Armitage mumbled into the blanket. “I’m still trying to process the fact that you have feelings for me and my behavior earlier was probably just sort of a short circuit in my brain.”

  “How the fuck did I manage to find someone this adorable,” Ben muttered and kissed Armitage’s cheek.

  “It’s embarrassing.”

  “No,” Ben insisted and kissed Armitage nose.

  “Embarrassing.”

  “ _No_ ,” Ben kissed Armitage's forehead.

  “ _Embarrassing_!”

  “Do you keep saying that to get me to kiss you?”

  “Maybe?” Armitage grinned and kissed Ben softly.

  “Insufferable,” Ben whispered and pulled Armitage closer. “I love it.”

  “Then I’m glad,” Armitage kissed Ben’s jaw and snuggled up to him.

For a while, the two men laid curled up around each other on the back seat, Armitage drawing patterns on Ben’s chest until both fell into a deep sleep.

  


  “Where’s Ben and Armitage?” Rey asked as she and Poe sorted out the leftovers.

  “Well,” Poe smirked and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Don’t tell anyone, but this morning I saw too very lightly dressed men slip into the hous. One of them was a thin red-head and the other one had a mop of black hair.”

  “Ohhh,” Rey giggled and grabbed Poe by the shoulders.

  “Wait,” Poe lifted a hand. “There’s more.”

  “Tell me!” Res yelled and shook him.

  “Finn went outside earlier and found one of the garage doors ajar. Inside he found a slightly wet blanket draped over Armitage’s Dodge. Also, there was a thunderstorm last night,” Poe smirked. “Logical conclusion…”

  “Huddling for warmth!” Rey screamed.

  “Jesus girl, you have a _very_ loud voice,” Poe said and rubbed one of his ears.

  “I gotta yell at grown ass men through a garage with running engines man, you don’t know half of it. Now excuse me, I gotta spill this to Leia!”

Then she ran out of the room, hurtling up the stairs and soon her loud footsteps quieted down. Finn entered the kitchen and almost fell over Chewie who was sleeping in front of the door to the living room.

  “Sorry my darling!” Finn told the dog. “Huh, I thought Rey wanted to help you,” he looked around the kitchen before he set down the basket full of candles.

  “She went to tell Leia about Ben and Armitage.”

  “Couldn’t you have waited at least until they came forward with it themselves?” Finn asked with a soft sigh.

  “Babe,” Poe whispered. “Do you remember how I proposed to you?”

  “Yeah. I was showering and you burst in and proposed to me on the spot.”

  “Yes, then you should know that I have zero impuls control.”

  “I do, but sometimes I hope that you might learn it,” Finn kissed Poe’s cheek. “Not that I hate it. It’s just a good thing to have in situations like this…”

  “I will try babe,” Poe promised. “On a totally unrelated note, do you think Armitage will let us keep a dog here?”

Finn looked at him and Poe grinned back.

  “I haven’t bought it. Yet.”

With a sigh Finn kissed Poe softly. Then he laughed and shook his head.

  


Curled up in the soft sheets of Armitage’s bed, Ben felt like he was in heaven. After fleeing the cold, cramped car, the two had set up camp in Armitage’s room. The windows were cracked open and let in a soft morning breeze. After a hot shower a few hours ago, Ben had settled into bed, satisfied with himself and the world.

  “What do we tell the others?” Armitage asked sleepily.

  “I don’t think we have to tell them anything,” Ben replied. “I heard Rey yell earlier and shortly after Leia’s voice. Someone must’ve seen us this morning.”

  “Word spreads quickly in this damned house,” Armitage muttered, but without much venom.

  “Let them be excited. Imagine how hard it must have been for them to watch us dance around the topic for what? A year?” Ben chuckled and kissed Armitage’s forehead. “Let them have this victory. My mother will soon ask you when you intend on marrying me.”

  “Christ almighty.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I think my cousin is the one to marry first, then we will be off the hook for a bit,” Ben pulled Armitage closer. “Phasma let something slip the last time I met her, so we will keep this between us.”

  “Yeah, wouldn’t want to spoil it,” Armitage chuckled. “I’m just happy no one tired to meddle with our relationship.”

  “I think some where seriously tempted. One was your brother I think,” he drew his fingers up Armitage’s back before nuzzling his nose into the other’s hair.

  “Techie knows better than to mess with my love life,” Armitage replied with a chuckle. “Though I still believe that your family set this whole party up to get us together.”

  “Really?”

  “Ben, we are talking about your mother here. She’s capable of everything as far as I know,” Armitage looked up at Ben.

  “Why did you allow her to go crazy?”

  “Maybe I was sick of waiting myself?” Armitage grinned and grabbed Ben’s scruffy chin.

They kissed softly and slowly.

  “ _I was right Leia_!” Rey yelled and the door was shoved open.

  “Rey! Have some respect!” Ben bellowed, but his cousin was already gone. “ _Rey, door_!”

Armitage snorted and hid his face in Ben’s chest. He couldn’t hold on any longer. This whole story was too absurd.

  


Finally, Leia climbed into the car after blessing Ben and Armitage for the tenth time. Han waved at his son before he set off with his wife and niece in the back.

  “Peace,” Armitage sighed. “Finally.”

Ben chuckled and kissed his cheek.

  “My family is not that bad.”

  “Then why aren’t you living with them?”

Ben only kissed his cheek and walked back inside. Armitage shook his head and followed him. Inside, Mitaka sat on the couch and watched a cartoon. When he noticed the two adults, he turned off the TV and climbed off the couch.

  “Dad?” He asked his father.

  “Yes?” Armitage knelt down to be on the same line of sight as Mitaka.

  “Is Ben going to stay now?”

  “I never intended to leave Mitaka,” Ben said and knelt down as well. “I can’t bear to be away from you or your siblings. And your father obviously.”

  “I was merely worried that you might leave one day,” Mitaka said and blinked his tears away.

  “Oh Mitaka,” Ben whispered and opened his arms.

The boy fell into them and buried his face in Ben’s shoulder. Gently, Armitage rubbed Mitaka’s back.

  “We will stay with you Mitaka. Don’t worry my darling.”

Once the tears were dried, Mitaka insisted on going back upstairs into his room alone. Watching his son climb the stairs, Armitage barely held it together himself.

  “He’s still suffering from the loss of his mother,” Armitage whispered.

  “It’s not your fault Armitage,” Ben pulled him into a hug. “He will heal in time. It will take some more time, but he’s already gotten so much better since I knew him. Baby steps.”

  “Yeah. I’m just worried you know. That I can’t hold my promise.”

  “That’s something to worry about on another day,” Ben kissed Armitage’s cheek. “Let’s be happy for now, that we have each other for comfort. I still can’t believe that I can simply hug and kiss you.”

Armitage smiled with tears in his eyes.

  “Yeah. Some things you can never really shake,” he confessed. “Some things stick with you.”

  “I know,” Ben replied. “Baby steps.”

  “Baby steps,” Armitage agreed.

  “Dad?”

The two men broke apart. Paige stood in the doorway to the dining room. She swallowed when she suddenly had the attention of both Ben and Armitage.

  “What is it Paige?” Armitage asked.

  “I’m just so glad for you,” she got out before she ran to them, pulling them into a crushing hug. “I’m so happy.”

  “We’re happy too my dear,” Armitage assured her.

Ben smiled at him and pulled Paige closer. He said nothing and only held onto them. Tears ran down his cheeks and Armitage wanted to kiss them away.

Then he opened his eyes and there was so much love in them, something new and yet familiar blossomed in Armitage’s heart.

That moment Armitage knew that he had found the right person for himself. For the second time. And this time, everything would be different and still the same. Tears spilled over his cheeks and his whole spirit felt lighter.

* * *

Moodboards: [Chapter 1](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172449273844/chapter-1-the-red-maserati-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 2](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172492493849/chapter-2-the-springfield-black-horse-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 3](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172560438464/chapter-3-mark-x-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 4](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172631188699/chapter-4-a-lotus-sharp-edge-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 5](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/172856805899/chapter-5-the-range-of-sports-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 6](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173098317954/chapter-6-merc-600-of-my-nanny-au-childcare-and) [Chapter 7](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/173552060314/chapter-7-il-lancia-origliare-of-my-nanny-au) [Chapter 8](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/174092425594/moodboard-for-chapter-8-a-vauxhall-of-my-nanny) [Chapter 9](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/174474885754/chapter-9-going-topless-of-my-nanny-au-childcare) [Chapter 10](http://charlotte-frey.tumblr.com/post/175083431454/chapter-10-dodge-ing-the-inevitable-of-my-nanny)   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving kudos! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment!


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